Little Lily
by The-Shy-Quiet-One
Summary: What happens when an eleven year old gets left on the Burrow's doorstep with no memory of how she got there or whom her parents are? This is her story.
1. Beginings

Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to JK Rowling. Capiche? Capiche.

Holy crap! A new story? Yes! Ok, so, it's kind of a spin off of one of my older ones that I took down, and have since, edited. But anyways, enjoy!

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**Little Lily**

_Chapter One: Beginnings_

A dark figure walked along the dusty dirt lane in the hot evening air. His face could not be seen, for the hood of a long, billowing cloak shrouded it. In his arms, he held a small human sized bundle, wrapped up in a similar cloak, only this one's was red and sparkling velvet, rather than the plain old black of the tall figure's.

In the distance lay the figure of a building, large and a bit lopsided, built on what looked to be the stone fencing of an old pig's sty. It was towards this building, that the figure made its way, stopping only when it arrived. The hood angled down towards the little one, and a hand came up to sweep back bangs darker than the summer night's sky. A single, glistening tear fell upon the small figure's cloak as the large one set it down on the doorstep of the odd building. With a kiss and whispered words of love, the large figure rose and withdrew a long piece of wood from his pocket. He pressed the tip of it against the smaller figure's temple and, fighting back a choking sob, whispered, "Obliviate." The spell shone blue, bouncing out of the wand over the small figure. The larger one let his sob go and then ran, knowing of he did not leave now, he would never be able to.

August 22nd was one of the most interesting mornings Mr. Weasley had ever had since the end of the war fourteen years ago. He had woken up as usual, before his wife, so he could do a little tinkering, er cleaning, of the shed where he kept all his Muggle toys. Rain was pounding down on the roof though, so he decided he should probably stay inside. The shed typically got a bit drafty and sodden during rain showers. Ok, so the thunder and lightning hinted that it was a storm, rather than a shower, but hey, he was all nice and safe in the Burrow. But the chickens weren't! They'd been left outside last night! He'd forgotten to shut them up in the hen house. Now he had to go out and get them out of the rain, otherwise Molly would be furious.

Mr. Weasley donned his coat, hat, and shoes and opened the kitchen door. He just happened to look down to see if he should be careful of mud, and, instead of wood, was greeted with sodden red velvet and scattered golden sparkles. Stopping down, he pulled back the hood, revealing the face of a small ebony haired girl. She was pale and shivering. Father instincts kicking in, Mr. Weasley did the first thing he could think of: he scooped her up and brought her inside, slamming the door shut behind himself with his foot.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley called for his wife as, now soaking wet, he made his way into the parlor where he set the child on the couch and took off his hat. "Molly!"

"I'm coming Arthur, for Merlin's sake, hold your hippogriffs." Molly Weasley, still clad in her pajamas and a bathrobe, came down the stairs, pausing to get her foot back in a slipper she had lost on her way down. "Now what's the problem?"

Mr. Weasley gestured spastically at the couch. How could she not see what the problem was, it was laying right there! Mrs. Weasley blinked. "Oh dear, well then, don't just stand there. Put on the tea kettle." The graying red haired woman stated this as if tea would help the entire matter. She bent over the couch and picked the child up.

"Where are you going?"

"Ginny's room. She needs a bed, and I changed Ginny's sheets last week, so they're freshest. It's not as if anyone's been sleeping in them otherwise." Mrs. Weasley brought the child up to the first floor landing and in through the door to the left. After laying the girl down on the bed, Mrs. Weasley went about ridding the child of her cloak. The rain had soaked through it and made the little red dress, stockings, shoes, and under things the girl was wearing look as if she'd been swimming. Well, Mrs. Weasley got them off her right quick and hurried to find some of Ginny's old things in the trunk at the foot of the bed. Underwear and soft white linen nightdress later, the child was tucked up under the flowered covers of the bed, her shivering ceased by warmth. Mr. Weasley arrived with a tray of tea and toast which he set upon the bedside table before taking a seat in the rocking chair in the corner.

"Well, what's the verdict?"

"She's not shivering, but her breathing is a bit wheezy, so I daresay she's caught a cold. Nothing dire though. Oh Arthur, what kind of person leaves a child on the doorstep of a stranger?"

"Either a positively horrible one, or someone seriously desperate. Were there any signs of abuse?"

"None what's so ever. She's been fed up fine and there isn't so much as a scratch on her. I thought at first, but it's only a birthmark…"

"Birthmark?"

"Yes, and it's the oddest thing Arthur, it's shaped exactly like a bolt of lightening, right there on the outside of her right ankle." Mr. Weasley was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking. "I'll go through her pockets once her clothes have had a chance to dry. Hang them on the line before you leave, would you?"

"Of course… Molly… what if it wasn't a str-"

"Arthur, no, I know what you're thinking. Don't break open old wounds. He's long been dead so there's no possible way she could be."

"But what if…"

"No. And not another word about it. Now, you'd best be getting ready for work. I'll keep an eye on her." With an air of authority, Mrs. Weasley ushered Arthur out of the room with the child's clothes and took his place in the old rocking chair. It was a strange old thing, covered in the painty fingerprints and marker drawings of her seven children from when they were younger. But she'd rocked every single one of them to sleep in it just fine, despite it's rather creative paint job.

It was about noon before the little girl in Ginny's old bed began to stir. Mrs. Weasley had taken to her knitting, working on the sweaters she made for each of her children and grand children every Christmas. Ron had begged of her for something other than maroon this year, though she wasn't about to change the colors around. Every single one of her children had a set color, the one she thought they looked best in as their mother, and if they complained, so be it. Ron would get his maroon sweater, and he would wear it, only because it would not do to hurt her feelings.

Mrs. Weasley looked up from her knitting as the child's head lifted from the pillow and she sat up fully, rubbing at one eye. She looked around, her flushed face covered in confusion before her eyes landed upon Mrs. Weasley who rose from the chair.

"How are you feeling dear?"

"Ow." The girl gripped her head and fell back down on her pillows with a whimper. Mrs. Weasley stroked her forehead gently and lifted a cool cloth from a bowl of ice water on the bedside table. She laid it across the girl's forehead and then reached for a potion bottle that sat beside the bowl.

"Shush now. This will help." Mrs. Weasley poured a bit of gooey green potion into a spoon and lifted the girl's head, tilting the spoon to her mouth. The child down the medicine properly and then laid flat again, her eyes closing, exaughsted. Mrs. Weasley sighed and ran her fingers along the girl's bangs, flicking them out of the way.

"Mum?" Mrs. Weasley looked up to find her own daughter standing in the doorway, her long red hair pulled back in a pony tail. "Dad sent me an owl…" Ginny's brown eyes looked down upon the sleeping child and she stepped into the room. "Who is she?"

"I haven't the slightest. Her clothes should be dry by now though…" Mrs. Weasley looked out the window. Last night's rain had long since passed, leaving the hot sun beating down upon the burrow. "Would you go check the pockets, dear?"

"Sure." Ginny nodded and left the room. She returned a few minutes later, her hands clasping two things, eyes wide. She set an envelope and a large money bag down on the bed beside her mother. "There's almost a hundred Galleons in here… and a key to a vault at Gringotts by the looks of it. And a note." Mrs. Weasley took up the note, unfolded the lined Muggle paper, and read:

_Dear Weasleys,_

_This is Lily Willow Carpenter. She's ten years old, but will be eleven come August 30. I have enclosed enough gold for her school things this year, as well as the key to her vault, into which I have placed all of my savings under her name. It should cover everything she will need in the years to come. It is my deepest regret to leave her, but I cannot take her where I am going and I know she will be safe and happy with you. We are both in terrible danger and I will not allow them to torture her to find me. I have preformed a Memory Charm upon her, so that she will not remember me until the time comes for me to perform the counter charm. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but there is no one else I can trust. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart._

There was no signature and Mrs. Weasley frowned as she set the letter down upon the bed. She reached up and stroked the child's hair away from her face again. She was cooler now than she had been before… that was good.

"Her name is Lily, Mum. With one l, not two… just like-"

"Ginny, dear. Don't be ridiculous. We can all hope as much as we want, but it's not possible. We all his body. He's dead in his tomb next to Dumbledore's! We're just lucky that that Neville boy was able to slice Voldemort through with the sword after he killed the snake."

"I know, Mum. It was just a silly hope… she… resembles him." Ginny sighed, taking over stroking the girl's hair as her mother pocketed the note and placed the money bag in the bedside table drawer. "I suppose it's just the hair. Jet-black… unruly."

"Yes. But she has strange eyes…"

"What do you mean by strange?"

"They're different colors. The left one's green, the right one's brown."

"Really?"

"Yes, she was awake for a couple minutes. Long enough for me to give her a Pepper-Up potion, though that hasn't seemed to of started working just yet. Oh, there it goes." Mrs. Weasley smiled as Lily's ears started emmiting smoke and the girl rolled over, her strange eyes opening. They weren't glassy anymore and she seemed to actually be taking in her surroundings as opposed to the last time she'd been awake. Upon sighting Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, she began hyperventilating and tugged the covers up over her head, hiding.

"Woah, calm down there!" Ginny tugged the blankets back and placed a hand on top of Lily's head. "You're safe. It's alright. We're not going to hurt you."

"Wh-where… am I?" Lily asked, her voice small and sweet, accented with something that was not exactly English.

"You're at the Burrow, sweetheart." Mrs. Weasley explained, pouring a cup of tea and offering it to Lily who eyed it very curiously. "I'm Molly Weasley and this is my daughter, Ginny. You're going to be staying with us for a while."

"Why?"

"Well, um… because…"

"Because we're your relatives." Ginny opted, not really knowing what else to tell her. "Don't you remember?"

"No… I don't remember anything."

"Well, that's alright. You've been sick. But we're going to get you up and about in no time. Here, have some tea." Mrs. Weasley offered her the cup again and Lily took it, eyeing the liquid warily. She took a sip, gagged, and choked it down before shaking her head and offering it back to Mrs. Weasley.

"I don't think I've ever had tea before."

"Well, maybe it's a bit grown up for you. I'll make some soup." Mrs. Weasley took the cup and the tray, heading back down stairs with it. Lily turned her attention to Ginny.

"I know you. You're on one of my posters."

"I'm the Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies."

"They're my favorite team!" Lily bounced excitedly in the bed, her eyes wide. "Oh can I have your autograph, please please puh-llleeeease!"

"Sure ya can." Ginny laughed, digging into her pocket and pulling out a scrap of parchment. She gave it a sign and handed it to Lily who hugged it. "Hey, listen, Lily. Do you remember who dropped you off here?"

"…No. I don't remember anything… I remember my poster. And my bedroom, but… not much else. No people, just things."

"Well then, that's ok. Well, I guess you could say I'm sort of like… your aunt. And then my mum's your grandma ok? Does that make sense?"

"Oh yes! Wow, my aunt's the Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies! Wowie!"

"Well, you've got a lot more aunts and uncles to meet. And cousins too." Ginny explained. She turned her head and called down. "Hey Mum? Could you bring up the family portrait for Lily? I want to show her to rest of the family."

Mrs. Weasley returned carrying another tray and a framed picture. She set the tray down on Lily's lap and then lifted the picture up for her to see. "Now, this is my husband…"

"Your granddad." Ginny offered, reaching over and taking the picture from her mum. "Your Uncle Bill, his wife Fleur, and their children Caprice and Dominique. Uncle Charlie, he isn't married. Uncle Percy, his wife Wisteria, and their children, Molly and Arthur. Uncle George, Auntie Angelina, and your cousins Fred and Marcus. Then lastly, there's Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione with their children, Harry, Luna, and tiny Nevvy."

"That's a lot of family." Lily stated, wide eyed. She spooned some soup into her mouth and then beamed up at Mrs. Weasley. "Gramma, you make the best soup I've ever had!"

"Why, thank you, dear." Mrs. Weasley smiled back at her, her face a tad red.

"Hey… even though I'm staying here, I still get to go to Hogwarts right? I…" Lily concentrated really hard for a second but then shook her head. "I can't remember who told me, but someone said I'd get a letter and that I would get to go when I was eleven. Instead of going to Muggle school again."

"So, you know about Hogwarts?"

"Oh yes! I know everything about Hogwarts! Or at least, everything I was told. Are there really big horse things that you can't see unless you've seen someone die?"

"Er… yeah. There are."

"Cool!" Lily beamed brightly and continued slurping up her soup. Once she'd had her fill, she looked up at Mrs. Wealsey, jutting out her lower lip and widening her eyes. "Gramma, can I please get out of bed?"

"Well…"

"Oh, come on Mum." Ginny mimicked Lily's begging face. "She seems much better. I think there are still some old toys in the closet from when I was younger that we could play with." Ginny rose from the bed and wandered over to her old closet, digging in side of it until she reached the very back. She pulled out an old toy chest covered in dust and dragged it over to the bed. "I used to have a ton of fun with these." She propped open the lid of the chest and pulled out a superbly beat up old Quaffle. "Of course, they were all hand me downs from the boys. Well… except for this old thing. Used to cart it everywhere." Ginny offered Lily a worn ragdoll with red yarn hair and black button eyes wearing a green gingham dress.

"I made that for you for Christmas when you were four years old." Mrs. Weasley smiled. "You were so excited to have something new for a change. Can't remember how many times I had to sew on a new eye or repair a tear. You called her Baby Weasley."

"I love her." Lily stated, hugging the doll close.

"You can have her. She helps keep nightmares away." Ginny smiled and dug deeper into the toy chest. "She has a couple other dresses here somewhere… Mum, didn't you make her her own set of Hogwarts robes once?"

"I believe I did. You were so jealous about the boys getting to go… I think that was the year the twins started. You gave her up for a diary when you started school though."

"Oh…" Lily frowned, looking down at the doll. "I guess I might be too old to…"

"Nah, Lily. Just because I grew out of her, doesn't mean you don't have to like her. You can still play with toys all you want. We all grow up in our own time. You can even change her name if you'd like."

"Ok!" Lily beamed and hugged the doll. She gave a big yawn, appearently all the excitement had worn her out due to her cold and having not had much energy in the first place.

"Why don't you settle back down, dear?" Mrs. Weasley suggest as Lily snuggled against the pillows, hugging the doll. "I bet you'll feel loads better in the morning, and then you can get up and probably meet some of the rest of the family, alright?"

"Ok Gramma." Lily nodded and yawned again, closing her eyes. It wasn't long before she was back to snoozing, her breathing still a little wheezy.

"You go ahead and make dinner, Mum. I think I'll stay here a while." Ginny said, taking to stroking Lily's hair again. The child gave a sigh and nuzzled up against her hand. Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"Ginny, I think it's about time you thought about dating some more. What about that nice Thomas boy?"

"Mum, no."

"It's been years. It's time to move on, have children of your own."

"Please, leave it be, Mum. I don't want to talk about it." Mrs. Weasley sighed and then nodded, leaving her daughter and Lily to go make dinner and owl the rest of the family about their visitor.

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I hope you enjoyed it! I've never really done a main character this young before, so, bear with me. Anyways, reveiw if you'd like to, I appreciate them, but you don't really have to. No pressure.

Lots of love,

S.Q.O.


	2. Breakfast

Disclaimer: Any character or setting you already recognize belongs to the beautiful, amazing, wonderful, JK Rowling.

Yes, yes I did write two chapters in under five hours. Go me!

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**Little Lily**

_Chapter Two: Breakfast_

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling much better than she had the day before. Her head didn't hurt and she could breathe just fine through her nose. She lifted her arms up above her head, giving a great stretch. The sun shone through the small bedroom's window onto the wooden floor, making pretty patterns on the floor that greatly resembled the open lace curtains. Lily's bare feet hit the floor and she climbed fully out of the bed, moving the short few steps to the window. Looking out of it, she saw quite an enchanting garden, unkempt and magical in its own way and what looked to be a small orchard up on a hill. Everything was green, bright, and open. She pushed the window upwards, taking a deep whiff of the air. It rushed in at her, bringing the smell of lilacs that normally only stayed til June and freshly cut grass that she was sure was the only thing kept up with in the garden.

Once Lily had had her fill of the fresh country air, she turned around and wandered over to the closet. Ginny had said she might meet some new family members today, so she wanted to try and make a good impression. Knowing that her aunt and grandmother wouldn't mind, she tugged out a simple yellow sundress printed embroidered with white flowers along the hem. There were a lot of dresses in the closet, all of them having belonged to Ginny when she was younger. Most of them weren't worn through like the jeans Lily found in the dresser as she was going through it, looking for an outfit before she'd decided to check the closet.

She took off the nightgown and pulled on the dress, tying the white ribbon sash around her waist in a bow. She took a brush off the top of the dresser and ran it through her long black hair, getting rid of the snarls that had accumulated with her day in bed. She pulled it back into a single braid that ran down her back and tied a white ribbon to the end of it. Nodding to herself in the mirror, she went back to the closet for a pair of white sandals she had seen there. Content with her appearance, she left the bedroom and quietly made her way down stairs.

Mrs. Weasley stood at the stove, waving her wand at bacon and eggs, flipping them when she needed to. Around the scrubbed wood table sat Ginny, a balding man with glasses, a red haired man who was shoveling food into his mouth, a brown haired woman who was talking animatedly to Ginny, and three children. One boy who looked to be about thirteen, a girl of about eleven, and another younger girl who had to be no more than two. Lily peeked around the corner shyly, not quite sure what to make of these new people. They had to be more of the Weasleys Ginny had told her about yesterday.

"Oh, here she is. Good morning, Lily!" Ginny beamed, waving at her to join them. "Come have some breakfast. This is your Granddad Weasley, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione. And Harry, Luna, and Nevvy." Lily bit her lip and stepped into the kitchen shyly.

"It's nice to meet you, Lily." Hermione smiled kindly and rose from her seat to butter Lily some toast while Mrs. Weasley made her up a plate.

"You can sit by me!" The older of the two girls said excitedly, patting the empty chair beside her. Lily smiled and slipped into the chair, looking at her cousin curiously. "I'm Luna! Are you going to Hogwarts this year too?"

"Yes, I think so." Lily smiled back, digging a fork into her eggs and eating away at them hungrily. After only having a bowl of soup the day before, she was excited about breakfast.

"Harry's already been twice!" Luna said, looking at her brother with envy. "And all of our other cousins go there as well or have finished. After us, it'll just be Nevvy left to start, and she can't go for another nine years anyway. Unless we get more cousins, which we might." Luna went on happily, eating her toast as she spoke.

"Luna, chew then chat." Hermione said simply, lifting her coffee to take a sip of it. "Harry, do not, I repeat, do not put that bacon up your sister's nose."

"Aw, Mum! But Nevvy loves it! She thinks it smells good."

"Good!" The two year old pounded her fist on the table, laughing as her big brother offered her a piece of bacon.

"Don't. I do not need another visit to St. Mungos this week."

"The Healers thought it was hilarious." Ron murmured through his food. Hermione clonked him on the back of the head.

"Chew then chat, Ronald."

The table was fairly noisy for a few more minutes, a fight breaking out between Harry and Luna over whom would get to Floo home first later. They almost didn't hear the tapping on the window that signaled the mail was there, and wouldn't have if Mrs. Wealsey hadn't been standing right in front of it.

"Mails here!" She called over the commotion, opening the window to let in a Ron's tiny owl, Pig. "Looks like somebody's gotten their Hogwarts letters." She smiled and set each letter down beside it's respective child and then handed Hermione the Daily Prophet. Lily's eyes grew wide as she stared down at the thick envelope with the green ink writing upon it.

_L. Carpenter_

_The Little Bedroom_

_The Burrow_

_Ottery St. Catchpole_

Beaming, Lily tugged open her letter, and read.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall_

_Dear Miss L. Carpenter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1. We await your owl no later than August 25._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress_

Lily flipped to the next page, excitedly examining all of the things she would need for her first year at Hogwarts. She was brimming over, the smile on her face nearly hurting her cheeks it was so wide with joy.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Uniform:_

_First-year students will require:_

_Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for daywear_

_One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothing should carry name tags._

_Course Books_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

_by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginners'' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

_by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them_

_by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Force: A Guide to Self Protection_

_by Quentin Trimble_

_Other Equipment_

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN _

_BROOMSTICKS_

"Wow." Said Lily as she looked over her list of required items, "This is a lot of stuff."

"It's always a lot of stuff the first year." Explained Ginny, taking the list from Lily and looking it over, nodding her head. "Yep, looks just like the one I got my first year. They change the books each year, depending on what you'll be learning. These are all the basic things. Of course, you'll probably need more new robes later on and such, but that won't be a problem. We can just get everything in Diagon Alley, right Mum?"

"Of course, dear. I don't know when though, I've got quite of a few things I need to do today."

"Well, I can take Lily, no sweat." Ginny offered, biting into her toast.

"Oh would you? That would be wonderful. One less thing to worry about. Alright then, it's settled. You two can go this afternoon."

"Mind if we join you, Ginny?" Hermione asked, whipping egg off of her youngest's face.

"Sure, that'll be fun." Ginny smiled and nodded, reaching out her arms to lift Nevvy from her high chair as she squirmed away from her face getting cleaned. "I smell a stinky nappy!" She exclaimed kindly, bouncing the small toddler a bit. "C'mon Nevvy, let's go get you all cleaned up and let your folks finish their breakfast, huh?" She excited the room.

As soon as she was gone, Hermione sighed and set down the napkin. "Poor Ginny. She wants children so badly, but she won't even try to date anymore."

"Why not?" Asked Harry curiously, his brown eyes looking from his mother to his father who coughed and moved to clear the empty plates from the table.

"She has a broken heart, love."

"A broken heart? How did that happen?" Luna lifted her plate and handed it to her father while Lily turned her head to look at the doorway Ginny had disappeared to.

"The man she loved died a long time ago, during the Battle of Wizards. She was only sixteen at the time though, never really got over it… but oh, don't mention it to her." Hermione said quickly, handing Lily a napkin to wipe her mouth on. "It's best not to."

"Yes, Mum." Luna nodded solemnly and grabbed another piece of toast to nom on.

"Was it Harry? Your old best friend?" Harry asked even more curiously. "The one who's buried at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, it was. He was a great man, Harry was. He died trying to help save us all. It proved enough of a distraction for Voldemort, that Neville was able to finish him off and end the war."

"Neville? Our Neville?"

"The very same."

"Wow." Harry looked impressed as he finished his breakfast and then got up from the table. "I'm going to go play with the gnomes."

"You will do no such thing." Mrs. Weasley stated automatically. "You're to stay away from those gnomes unless it's to get rid of them."

"Aw, Gramma."

"Don't you aw, Gramma me. Those gnomes are nothing but pests. Either get rid of them, or stay away from them, end of story." Harry sighed and bolted out of the door, clearly intent on doing as he pleased either way.

"I best be off to work." Arthur said, speaking for the first time that morning. He rose from his chair, placed his hat on his head, and moved to kiss each Luna and then Lily, on the tops of their heads. He gave Hermione a hug and Ron a pat on the back before moving to kiss his wife. "Take care, I'll see you all later. Love you."

"Love you too, Arthur." Mrs. Weasley smiled and kissed her husband as he left.

"Do you want to play a game with me, Lily?" Luna asked curiously, her blue eyes slightly pleading. Lily nodded and looked up at Mrs. Weasley who smiled back. Taking this as an ok, Lily slipped out of her chair and put her plate in the sink. Luna did the same and took her hand. "I bet you we can find something to do out in the garden as well. It'll be fun."

"Wait…" Lily frowned and dropped Luna's hand. She raced up the stairs and into Ginny's old bedroom. She grabbed the ragdoll she'd taken to and then ran back downstairs. She grabbed hold of Luna's hand and held up the doll. "This is Anna. Ginny gave her to me."

"Oh!" Luna smiled and dragged Lily out the back door. "We can play house!"

The two young girls headed into the garden. Harry was over by the bushes, seemingly talking to himself, but Lily was almost certain he was having a conversation with some of the gnomes. They found a shady spot underneath one of the trees and a large rock to use as a table. Lily set Anna down on a small rock and she and Luna took up sticks to be their wands.

"Just think, Lily, we'll get our own real wands later today!" Luna said excitedly as she pointed her stick towards an invisible enemy. "Stupify!" Lily laughed and joined her. Their sticks emitted sparks as they played, but their spells didn't work yet, not without proper wands. They went from playing house to being Aurors, which Luna said her parents were, only her mother had been staying home to teach Nevvy while her father worked, which was better than getting a babysitter. "And once Nevvy's old enough, she'll go to a Muggle school and learn her letters and such. My mum is Muggleborn, see, so she knows how it words. We go up through grade four, and then we go away to Hogwarts, just like some Muggles go away to private schools. Most wizarding families teach their kids at home though, so they never really go to Muggle school, but my mum thought it would be good for us to get accustomed to the Muggle world, so we can blend in better when we're older. "

"I went to a Muggle school, too." Lily smiled, patting her doll on the head as she shot a 'spell' at the tree. "But I don't really remember much about it. Ginny and Gramma say it's because I was sick."

"I didn't think you could forget things just by being sick, but Gramma and Aunt Ginny never lie, so it must be true. It's funny, I've never met you before today. I thought I knew all of my cousins already."

"Well, I lived across the ocean, in America, for as long as I can remember. But I still know about Hogwarts… I think that's why I came here. So I could go there instead of to one of the American schools."

"So you probably never visited before. Did your mum and dad come as well?"

"I don't think so. I'm supposed to stay with Gramma and Granddad Weasley… I don't really remember my parents."

"That's weird. How can you forget your own parents?" Luna frowned, twirling her stick around her brown hair now, making it even bushier than it already was. She didn't seem to care about the state of it though. Her mother had bushy hair too and she was perfectly pretty in Luna's eyes.

"I don't know. I wish I could remember, but Gramma said not to worry about it, so I'm trying not to. I love it here already. It's so pretty." Lily smiled and sat down on the rock, tugging Anna to her and giving her a tight hug. "Everything is so green. I used to live in a city, there were some trees in the sidewalks, but not much grass."

"I wouldn't like that at all." Luna nodded. "Well, there's plenty of grass here, and at Hogwarts. And there's a whole big forest of trees there too. It's the Forbidden Forest."

"And students aren't supposed to go in there at all." Lily nodded, showing that she already knew this. "And a great big lake, and a Quidditch Pitch. I just love Quidditch."

"It's ok. But I prefer a good book… My dad loves the Chudley Cannons though, and Harry is hoping to make the Gryffindor team this year. He wants to be a Beater."

"I'd rather be a Chaser or a Seeker, like Ginny. The Holyhead Harpies are my favorite team. They beat the Chudley Cannons fifteen years running! D'you think Hogwarts would let me try out for the team? I've never really flown, but I think it would be a lot of fun."

"Nah, you'd have to wait until next year. First years never get on the house teams, except for years ago when Harry Potter, he was the one they were talking about earlier, the one who died, became the Seeker for Gryffindor. But he had natural born talent. We'll get flying lessons though. Those should be fun."

"Except, I'm pretty sure the school brooms suck."

"Yeah, but it's against the rules for first years to have their own, so I'm sure we'll survive." Lily nodded and reached out for Luna's hand as Ginny called from the back doorway.

"Hey, you lot! We've got to get going to Diagon Alley if we're going today!" The three children in the garden bolted for the door, excited. Harry passed the girls on their way, coming to a halt in front of the kitchen fire place where Ron stood holding Nevvy.

"Luna, you'll go with your mum. Ginny's going to take Lily and I've got Nevvy. Harry, remember, you need to-"

"Speak loud and clear so I don't come out in the wrong grate, I know, Dad." Harry nodded, reaching into the old flower pot full of Floor Powder. He took a good handful and moved to stand in the flames. Lily watched in shock as they licked at him, but did not catch. Harry dropped the powder and shouted. "Diagon Alley!" He shot up the chimney and out of sight.

"Us next Lily." Ginny offered her the pot and she took a handful of the strange powder. She had never Flooed before in her life and was a bit nervous. Ginny took her own handful and handed the pot to Hermione. She stepped into the fired and held out a hand. Lily took it and cautiously moved into the fire as well. It didn't burn her… in fact, it tickled! She let out a giggle. Ginny wrapped her arms around her. "Keep your elbows in. On three then. One. Two. Three. Diagon Alley!"

"Diagon Alley!" Lily said at the same time, dropping her powder as Harry had. She and Ginny disappeared in a whirling of brick and fire. The grates passed them by and Lily tucked her elbows closing to her sides, watching as sitting rooms and shops flitted past them. She thought she saw about a thousand cats in one of these rooms, but then her stomach started to go and her head began to spin, so she closed to eyes.

A few seconds later, Ginny and Lily landed and fell out of the fireplace and into the Leaky cauldron covered in soot. Ginny quickly dragged Lily out of the way just before Hermione and Luna appeared, and then Ron and Nevvy. Once gathered, the adults helped the children brush the dust off of their clothes and turned to the pub.

Lily had never seen anything like it… so many witches and wizards in one place… she didn't even get her fill of looking before she was steered out the back door and into the small enclosed yard of the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione got out her wand and tapped the bricks on the back wall. It moved, the bricks shifting, opening. Lily's eyes grew wide in amazement, as they took in their first glimpse of Diagon Alley.

* * *

Again, I really, sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I aim to please. If you want to let me know what you thought of it, reveiw, I will adore you for it.

Later loves,

S.Q.O.


	3. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: Any character or setting you recognize belongs to JK Rowling, as well as the creatures mentioned that you may not recognize.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Three: Diagon Alley_

Lily just about fainted with excitement as she was thrust into Diagon Alley. Every which way she looked, she was bombarded with something new and amazing. She couldn't believe it. She was actually here! She didn't know what to look at first, or where to go, or what she should buy… buy… oh dear. She stopped dead in her tracks and tugged at Ginny's sleeve, looking up at her with two different colored worried eyes. "Ginny, I haven't any money."

"'Course you do!" Ginny laughed, reaching into her cloak and pulling out Lily's money bag. She gave it a small jingle before returning it to her pocket. "You brought that and your key for Gringotts with you, don't you remember?" Lily shook her head. "Well, you did. So you haven't got a single thing to worry about. Besides, even if you'd come to us with nothing but the clothes on your back, which you almost did, I'd of been willing to get your school things for you. Famous Quidditch player, remember?" Lily laughed and hugged onto Ginny's arm, not wanting to get lost from her in the tumult that was the street. "Now then, where would you like to go first?"

"Can we get my wand?"

"Hmm… I think we'd better wait on that one. Don't want you to accidentally set anyone's pants on fire or something. How about your robes?"

"Oh yes!" Lily bounced excitedly, letting go of Ginny's arm to do so. Ginny reached down and took her hand so as not to lose her.

"Oh Mum, can I go with Aunt Ginny and Lily, oh can I?" Luna begged Hermione who looked at Ron for a moment. He shook his head.

"We've got to go to Gringotts before we can buy anything, Luna. We can meet Ginny and Lily at Fred and George's in about… an hour?" He looked at Ginny who nodded her approval. "Alright, see you in an hour then." The family separated from their kin and headed for the big white building down on the end of the alley. Ginny tugged Lily along as she strained to look at everything she possibly could.

"I know, it's astounding the first time." She laughed. "But we've got a lot of places we need to go. Hurry up." Lily quickened her pace to match Ginny's and they made their way for Madame Malkin's Robe Shop right towards the end of the alley. The bell of the door tinkled as they entered and Madame Malkin looked up from where she was already pinning and pulling up robes for two older looking redheaded boys. "Why, hello Fred, hello Marcus. Lily, these are two more of your cousins. Their dad owns the joke shop down the way."

"Hi Aunt Ginny." Said the taller of the two boys, lifting his arm for Madame Malkin to put a couple of pins there. "So, that's Lily? Dad told us Gramma sent him an owl last night that our foreign cousin had come to visit."

"D'you like jokes, Lily? That's the kind of shop our dad runs." The smaller of the two boys spun around for Madame Malkin. "I'm Marcus, and this is my brother, Fred."

"I'm named after our dad's twin." Said Fred proudly, jutting his chest out. "He was killed in the Great Battle of Wizards years ago. But everyone still calls the joke shop Fred and George's anyway."

"Come to get you first robes, have you then dearie?" Said Madame Malkin. She gave a wave of her wand and the cloth around the two boys constricted, the pins flying out as they sewed themselves up to the perfect width and length. Madame Malkin gave another swish of her wand and the robes flew up off of the boys, folded themselves, and then properly wrapped themselves up into two separate packages."You two are done. I'll put it on your father's tab. Now skedaddle." The boys grabbed the packages and ran out the door.

"It as good to see you, Aunt Ginny, Lily!"

Ginny laughed watching them go and then led Lily over to the stools the boys had been standing on. Lily stepped up onto one and Madame Malkin eyed her curiously, not quite sure what to make of this child she'd never seen in Diagon Alley before. She began measuring every bit of her, from her hands, to her feet, to her torso and head.

"I've never seen you around here before, young lady. Are you Muggleborn?"

"No. I'm half-blood, I think. Or, almost half-blood." Lily frowned and spun around as Madame Malkin twirled her finger for her to do so.

"Lily is my niece from America." Ginny explained, shaking her head at Madame Malkin, indicating that asking more would just confuse the child. "Her parents want her to go to Hogwarts, so, we're watching her for the remainder of the summer."

"Well, isn't that nice." Madame Malkin nodded in understanding to Ginny as she pinned up Lily's robes. She stepped back and flicked her wand. They constricted and Lily jumped in shock. "There you go dear. I'll have your uniforms and cloak made up in about half an hour. I've got a few other orders to fill first. Go ahead and do some more shopping and then come along back to pick them up." Lily lifted her arms as the robes flew up and off of her body. She tripped slightly and Ginny caught her, helping her step down from the stool the rest of the way.

"Thanks Madame Malkin. We'll be sure to come back in a bit then." Ginny nodded and she and Lily left the shop, letting the little bell jingle above the door again. "Now then, where to next.. hmmm.. we should probably get your potions supplies." So they headed down the street for the Apothecary.

The shop was crowded and full of some of the strangest items Lily had ever seen. She wasn't at all sure what she was supposed to be getting for her Potions class, by upon arriving at the counter with Ginny, the man behind it took one look at her and ducked down beneath the counter. He returned with a small wooden kit in his hands. "First year at Hogwarts?"

"Yes." Lily nodded, eyeing the kit curiously. The man opened it, revealing a strange assortment of potion ingredients.

"I try to keep everything you need easy access. You'll have to get your cauldron, scales, and phials across the street at the metal works place, but this has all of your beetle eyes and newt tails, that sort of things. The teacher will provide any rarer ingredients you may need." Lily smiled, watching as the man wrapped the box up into a brown paper package and tied it tight with string. "And for you, my pretty lady, three Sickles. We have a special student discount."

"Wow Lils, that's a good deal. When I was in school you had to buy each ingredient separately. Usually ended up paying a whole Galleon for the lot." Ginny grinned, digging into her pocket to pull out Lily's money back and hand three silver coins to the man.

"That was probably back when my father ran the shop, but he's retired now. I figure, this way parents don't have to scrounge for cash and the kids don't have to worry about their ingredients getting lost or crushed in their trunk. And I don't have to run about scooping and sorting out what they'll need while the shop is busy."

"That is very kind of you." Ginny smiled and the man grinned back, giving Lily a pat on the head as he handed her her package. She hugged it to her chest, her first school purchase besides her robes.

"Thank you."

"And thank you, for not running about and destroying my shop like some of these crazy children."

Ginny and Lily left the Apothecary and headed right across the street to a shop that had stacks of glittering cauldrons set outside of the door. They bought Lily's cauldron from inside and also got her her brass scales and crystal phials. They piled Lily's things into her cauldron and Ginny carried it with one hand, keeping a firm hold on Lily with the other. They made their way towards Flourish and Blotts for her books and then back to Madame Malkins to pick up her robes.

"Alright Lily." Said Ginny once they'd left Madame Malkin's for the second time that day. "I think it's time we went to Ollivander's and got you your wand."

"Really?" Lily's eyes widened and she started to bounce again. "I can't wait! My very own wand… my very own. Oh!" Ginny laughed.

"And then afterwards, if you'd like to get a pet, we can stop at the Magical Menagerie."

"Really!" Lily said again, her eyes, if possible, getting even wider. Her mouth dropped slightly, unable to quite fathom the possibility that she would be getting both a wand and a pet, all in the same day.

"Of course." Ginny pointed across the street. "There's Ollivander's. C'mon." And they made their way trough the crowd to the wand shop.

Being that only first years usually needed wands, the shop was not over flowing with students or shoppers, but rather, was empty except for a boy who had already found his wand and was waiting for it to be placed back into it's box by the old, wizened shopkeeper. Once the boy and his father had gone, Ginny spoke up. "Hello Mr. Ollivander."

"Ah, Ginevra Weasley. Aspen, nine inches, dragon heartstring. One of the most temperamental I've ever made. Wonderful for hexes. I would say you've come for a cleaning or mending, but alas, I see this is probably not the case."

"My wand is fine, Mr. Ollivander." Ginny extracted the thin stick of wood from her sleeve and presented it to him. It shone brightly, almost like new.

"You have taken wonderful care of it. Much better than some of your brothers, now then… Who is this, young lady?" Mr. Ollivander eyed Lily curiously, bending down slightly to look her straight in the face.

"L-lily Carpenter." Lily said anxiously. She wasn't sure if she liked Mr. Ollivander, he was a bit creepy. But she knew he sold some of the best wands ever to be made in all of the UK.

"She's my niece." Ginny spoke up, putting a reassuring hand on Lily's shoulder.

"Lily Carpenter." Mr. Olliander repeated curiously. "Very strange. I have never heard your name before. And I know every single member of the Weasley family."

"She wasn't born in England, Mr. Ollivander. So you wouldn't have heard of her. Now then, she needs a wand."

"Ah yes, but of course." Mr. Ollivander flicked his own wand and a measuring tape began spinning about Lily, measuring every little bit of her like the one in Madame Malkin's shop had, only getting some of the more ridiculous places, like the space between her eyes and the length of her earlobes. He even measured between her nostrils, which Lily thought was quite strange indeed. "Ah. I see, lovely. Now…" Mr. Ollivander retracted the measuring tape and disappeared among the shelves of wands. There had to be thousands of them, and Lily wondered how one person could have made so many wands, but then she remembered how old Mr. Ollivander had to be and it became a little more apparent.

Mr. Ollivander reappeared with a black wand box that he set down upon the counter. He opened it and unwrapped the paper from around the wand delicately, as though it were something extremely delicate. He pulled the wand out of the case and offered it to Lily. "Willow, ten inches, unicorn tail hair. Nice and supple. Go on then, try it out."

Lily took the wand in her hand with wide eyes and gave it a swish. The counter broke down the middle with a loud crack. Mr. Ollivander snatched the wand back from her before she could do anymore damage "Oh no no no!" He placed the wand back in it's box and rushed back into the shelves. He pondered for a few moments before grabbing another and bringing it out. He set it on the counter as well and unwrapped it. "Pine, eight inches, dragon heartstring."

Lily took this wand and gave it a wave. The lamps above shattered, sending shards of glass raininging upon them. Ginny acted quickly, pointing upwards. "Reparo!" Before the shards could hit any of them, they flew back into place, the lamps glowing brightly in the dingy shop.

"Absolutely not!" Mr. Ollivander wrenched the wand from Lily before she could loosen her grip and set it back down into it's box. "Tricky tricky eh? Hmmm…"

Maple, willow, oak, cherry, walnut… Dragon heartstring, unicorn tail hair, unicorn mane, phoenix feathers, doxy wings, thestral scales… Mr. Ollivander went though what felt like every wand in the shop as he searched for one for Lily. In the time he'd been helping her, he'd also sold two other wands and Ginny and Lily were running out of time. They were supposed to be meeting Ron and Hermione at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes at that very moment. And they still hadn't gotten Lily her pet.

"Well, Miss Lily Carpenter, you are proving to be quite the toughest of customers I've had in some time. Are you sure you're a witch?"

"I got my Hogwarts letter, didn't I?" Lily crossed her arms, offended. Mr. Ollivander nodded and hmmed and hawed to himself for a few more moments.

"Well, there is one that might work… It is very rare… and very strange indeed… I don't usually make wands with it's properties… much too dangerous… there's just the one, but perhaps…" Mr. Ollivander disappeared into the furthest of shelves. Lily peered after him, watching as he climbed a ladder to get to the very back, very tallest shelf. He removed, not a black box, but a red one this time. Looking around, Lily saw there were very few red boxes in the shop. Mr. Ollivander returned, setting the box down on the counter with such care, one might think it were about to explode. He removed the wand with such care, handling it just as gingerly. "I once happened upon a very strange looking tree. It turned out to be a white birch and a crabapple tree whose seeds had been planted carelessly close… so close, that their roots entwined and instead of one killing the other, they somehow managed to bond and twist themselves into one tree as they grew. It was quite spectacular and I only took the one branch, it was so impossibly infest with bowtruckles." He held up the wand, showing that it was wavey, the grains both white and pink, mixing all together to form quite a unique effect. "Thirteen inches, with a very rare double core containing the hair of a porlock and the feathers of an augurey. I expect one of your books will tell you what those are… well… be careful. And have a go."

Mr. Ollivander handed the wand to Lily ever so carefully. Lily accepted it and immediately felt like she had just gained a third hand. A warmth spread up Lily's arm and her whole being glow, sparks of black and pink spitting out of the end of the wand like a Muggle sparkler. She nearly dropped the wand in surprise, her eyes wide. Mr. Ollivander's own eyes grew wide as well.

"Amazing. Never, in all my years, have I seen such a rare specimen of a wand take to a witch like that! But… now that I look at you, perhaps it was obvious from the beginning."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked as she handed the wand back to Mr. Ollivander and he let out a yelp, dropping it. He blew on his hand were an angry red burn had appeared. Lily bent down and picked it up cautiously, but it did not burn her. She placed it safely into its box, wrapped it up, and placed the cover on it.

"My dear girl, this wand has dual properties! And you have dual eyes! I should have realized it right away. I have seen different colored eyes in my time, but never two different colors on the same face. A rare wand, for a rare child. And look at that! It won't even let me, its creator, place a hand on it any longer now that it has found its true owner. I'm going to expect very wondrous things from you, my girl. Very wondrous things indeed." Mr. Ollivander looked down at her, astonishment all over his old face. He gently wrapped the wand box up in paper and string, so that it resembled the rest of Lily's packages so far. "That'll be eight Galleons." Ginny fished out Lily's money as the girl took the package containing her wand. She hugged it close, astounded that she finally had one of her own.

"Well, Lily…" Ginny looked at her watch as they left Ollivander's, the shopkeeper still murmuring about how odd Lily was, "We're going to be late in meeting the others, I don't know as we have time to stop at the menagerie."

"Oh pleeease, Ginny?" Lily jutted out her lip. "Please? I'm sure they won't be too displeased if we're late." More so than having looked forward to getting her very first wand, Lily had just been dying to get her pet. She had her little ten year old heart set on it, as any child who loved animals would.

"Well…" Ginny sighed, looking down at her. "Alright then. But we mustn't take too long, ok?"

"Ok!" Lily laughed and bolted in the direction of the Magical Menagerie, having passed it earlier. Ginny chased after her, carrying the cauldron full of books while Lily still have her wand and robes.

The shop was crowded with students and their parents, animals in cages up to the ceiling. There were strange creatures everywhere Lily looked and she wasn't quite sure as to where to go. Her letter had said she could bring an owl, cat, or toad, but those areas of the shop seemed to be where the crowd was thickest. She turned her head to look up at Ginny, thinking maybe this had been a bad idea after all. It was impossibly noisy in here, not to mention hard to move to look at anything.

"That was my last owl!" Called the shopkeeper, who was standing on the counter looking frazzled. "If you wanted an owl, try Eyelope's Emporium down the way." Part of the crowd dispersed, some of them muttering to themselves in irritation. The shop was a bit easier to navigate now, and the shopkeeper climbed down from her place on the counter to help a boy looking for a cat.

Lily looked around, her eyes full of wonder as she took in the strange creatures surrounding her from every side. There were lizards in all colors and sizes, furry things she had no name for, and a great hissing snake with two heads! She backed away from that particular cage and bumped into another. Spinning around, she found herself face to face with a pair of big blue eyes shining out from among medium-length custard colored hair. The creature was round, a perfect sphere and its mouth seemed to be hidden under all of its fur. It hummed at her, giving a squeak and pressing itself against the cage door eagerly. It opened its mouth and a very long pink tongue slipped out and through the bars to lap at Lily's nose.

"That's a puffskein." The shopkeeper stated, having come over to greet Ginny and Lily. "They're gentle things and eat just about anything you give them, so they're not hard to care for."

"Ron had one of those when we were younger." Ginny said, peeking into the cage. "I think Fred used it for Bludger practice though."

"Eugh…" The shopkeeper made a face and shook her head. "Quite misunderstood, puffskeins are. Just because they're so gentle and don't mind being the ball for a game of catch is no reason to make one a Bludger. That's just cruel."

"Yeah. Mum was none too pleased. But then, she wasn't pleased when it snuck its tongue up her nose when she was sleeping either."

"They do love eating bogies." The shopkeeper laughed. "Disgusting habit. Would you like to see him?" Lily frowned, eyeing the puffskein longingly. She sighed and shook her head.

"My list said I can have a cat, owl, or toad, but it didn't say anything about a puffskein."

"Lily, that's just basics. Ron had a rat for a while and I had a Pigmy Puff, which is kind of like a small puffskein. So long as it's well behaved, I'm sure McGongall won't mind if you bring a puffskein to school. I'll write her about it myself." The shopkeeper opened the cage. The puffskein bounced right out, letting out a happy chirping noise as it landed in Lily's arms. He was incredibly soft, like goose down. He hummed and nuzzled himself up under her chin, his eyes closing in pure joy at getting some attention. Lily hugged him tightly, loving the way he seemed to fit perfectly in her arms.

"They particularly love children. And this one is still just a baby, so he's got some growing to do, but they don't get too big. They bounce or roll to get around. And they really don't mind being used to play catch, so long as you're careful not to throw them too high. Like balls, they just bounce if you miss, but it can hurt them if they come down hard."

"I think I'll take him." Lily said, looking down adoringly at the little puffskein who was staring back at her in a similar fashion, his tongue sneaking out to try and find its way up her nose.

"And you won't use him for Bludger practice?"

"Oh no!" Lily shook her head wildly. "Maybe to practice my catching and throwing… I want to be a Chaser someday… but I would never hit him with a bat or take him up on a broom. He could get hurt!" The shopkeeper laughed.

"I'm just kidding with you. Of course you won't harm him, I can see that. Well, come on up front and we'll get the paperwork done. The Ministry requires us to send them a copy of the information of every sale we make here, so that they can keep tabs on who's got what and such. It's kind of like registering a pet in the Muggle world."

Ginny and Lily, carrying her puffskein, followed the shopkeeper to the back where the counter was. She got an index card and a quill from her drawer and wrote on it. "Puffskein. Male. Name?" She looked up at Lily inquiringly.

"Quaffle." Lily said after a moment. The shopkeeper laughed and wrote it down.

"Owner's name?"

"Lily Carpenter… with just one l." Lily said, watching the shopkeeper scribble it out.

"Place of residence?"

"The Burrow." Said Ginny, digging into her pocket to get the gold out. "And Hogwarts,"

"Alright, Lily. If you could just sign here." Lily set Quaffle down on the counter and took up the quill, standing on her toes to reach properly. She signed the card where the shopkeeper indicated and then picked Quaffle back up.

"And since you are under thirteen years of age, I have a policy that a parent or guardian must sign as well, indicating that they are aware that if the child fails to take responsibility for the pet and blah blah blah, any legal issues and that sort of thing." Lily looked worried for a moment before Ginny took up the quill and signed the card for her. "Wonderful. Alright then. That'll be five Galleons." Ginny dug into the money bag for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "And here's a pamphlet in case you have any questions or concerns. And you can always send me an owl as well. If he gets sick, which I doubt he will because they're resilient creatures, there's a creature specialist right in Hogsmeade village who will love to come up to the school to have a look at him. His address is in there." The shopkeeper smiled at Lily and gave the puffskein a goodbye pat. "Enjoy your new friend."

"I will. Thank you!" Lily beamed and she and Ginny left the shop, Ginny carrying the cauldron with all of Lily's things in it, Lily carrying Quaffle.

"We are really late, Lily." Ginny said as they rushed to get to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. "Ron and Hermione are going to be wondering where we've gotten to."

"I hope they aren't mad." Lily said worriedly, snuggling Quaffle closely in her arms as they entered the very bright orange, and crazy looking shop she hadn't paid much mind to earlier in her excitement to get to the menagerie.

WWW was full of students, laughing, and shouting, and explosions of light and color. It was the most colorful place they'd been today and Lily was instantly excited. She waved, spotting Luna who waved back and shouted to her father who was standing talking to a red haired man in purple robes. "There they are!"Ron looked up from his conversation and waved Ginny over. She and Lily moved through the craziness of the shop.

"About time you got here! I was just about to go looking for you." Ron grinned. "George, this is Lily."

"Hey there!" George grinned and Lily was surprised to see that, instead of an ear on one side of his face, he had a kiwi in a hole on the side of his head. He pulled it out and offered it to her. "Nice to meet you. Fred and Marcus said they saw you two earlier in Madame Malkin's, but they didn't mention how cute you are, or that you had a puffskein."

"I just got him!" Lily said back excitedly. "His name is Quaffle."

"Quaffle eh? Ron had a puffskein named Bludger once… Remember, Ron?"

"I'd rather not." Ron grimaced, giving a shudder at the memory and looking down at Quaffle slightly longingly. "Anyways, I'd better gather Harry and Luna. Last I checked, Nevvy was starting to get into that cranky mood from not having had her nap yet. Hermione had to take her upstairs to keep her from scaring away customers." He headed off through the crowd to search for his children.

"Since it seems you won't get much of a chance to look around, Lily, I've got this for you." George said, handing her a paper bag. She peeked inside and found it full of WWW products. "Consider it a gift from your good old Uncle George. Everything you'll need for you first year at Hogwarts."

"Wow! Thanks a lot!" Lily beamed and moved to hug him, already liking him before he'd given her the bag.

"Do we really have to go?" Harry groaned as he, Luna, and Ron came back into sight. "I hadn't finished choosing between dung bombs and biting teacups yet. And I need to stock up!"

"Don't worry Harry, I've got you covered." George whispered as Ron headed off to get Hermione and Nevvy from upstairs. George handed Harry and Luna bags like Lily's. "Consider them your birthday presents for this year." Harry beamed.

Ron returned with Hermione and Nevvy. "George, d'you mind if we use your Floo?"

"Sure. Go right ahead. Tell mum I say hi. I'll see you all later at the er… at dinner." He and the other adults exchanged a look before the group headed into the backroom where a fire was burning brightly.

"Alright Lily, you know the deal." Ginny said grinning. "Hermione will get your things." She nodded to where Hermione was loading up all of the school purchases into a strange, small beaded bag that Lily swore wouldn't have held her wand, let alone three trunk's worth of school supplies. But incredibly, everything seemed to be going in without a hitch. "Hold tight to Quaffle then." Ginny stepped into the fireplace, her hand already full of Floo powder, and Lily followed her, allowing herself to be hugged tightly from behind. Ginny dropped the powder and they shouted together. "The Burrow!" And the grates began spinning once again.

* * *

A third chapter already you say? Whatever do you mean? I can't have.. oh wait. Yup. I did. I love writing this story! I hope you liked this particular chapter, I think it's my favorite one so far! Please reveiw if you'd like to, I will love you forever.

Much love,

S.Q.O.


	4. Meeting

Disclaimer: Again. JK Rowling's characters and settings except for the ones you don't recognize already.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Four: Meeting_

Lily laughed as she fell out into the Burrow's kitchen covered in soot. Quaffle bounced out of her arms, not wanting to be squished. He rolled under the table and let his tongue snake out and across the floor, hopping after an unaware Mrs. Weasley who jumped at their arrival. Her face was smudged with a bit of dirt and her hair was a mess, as through she'd been inside a wind tube.

"Oh! Here you are, I was starting to worry." Mrs. Weasley got her brush and began running it along Lily, trying to get the soot off of the yellow dress before she gave up and pulled out her wand. "Tergio!" The soot fell from Lily and she was left clean as a whistle.

"Gramma, you've got dirt on your face. What have you been doing?" Lily giggled as Mrs. Weasley rushed to check herself on the mantelpiece mirror. She quickly used the cleaning spell on her face and straightened her hair out a bit.

"I've been getting the house ready for dinner tonight. We're going to have guests for dinner… Did you enjoy Diagon Alley?"

"Oh yes!" Lily beamed and turned as Hermione and Nevvy appeared in the fireplace. "Oh! Can I show Gramma my wand! Mr. Ollivander said it was really rare, like my eyes. It's got two woods, and two cores!" Ginny took Nevvy from Hermione. The toddler whined, making a great fuss.

"Go on then, Hermione. I'll put Nevvy down for her nap."

"Are you sure? She's in quite a rotten mood."

"I'm sure." Ginny smiled and disappeared up the stairs with the irate little girl. Hermione sat down in a chair looking exaughsted. "She's been fussing for hours now. First she wanted a toy broom when we took Harry to look at a demonstration on how they make brooms and then she missed her nap… oh…" She sighed and pulled out her beaded bag, offering it to Lily. "Your things are all in here with Harry and Luna's. I wrote your names on the packages."

Lily sat down at the table, reaching her hand into the beaded bag and letting out a cry of surprise as her entire arm disappeared inside. She felt around and grabbed the edge of a cauldron that felt like it was full of her things and dragged it out of the back, having to use both hands to get it all the way out. She set it on the table. "This is mine!" She grinned and carefully placed each book and parcel down on the table, unwrapping things to show Mrs. Weasley. "These are my robes… and my scales… and my potion kit… and my wand!" She exclaimed excitedly, undoing the strings on the long thing package.

Lily pulled apart the paper and took the lid off of the box, pushing back the tissue to display her strange wand swirled with white and pink wood. She pulled it out and laid it flat in her palms, lifting it up to show Mrs. Weasley proudly.

"Oh, it's lovely, Lily!" Mrs. Weasley beamed and reached out to examine the wand, but Lily withdrew her hands quickly, gripping the wand tightly.

"Careful, Gramma. It burned Mr. Ollivander when he went to put it back in the box for me. He said I'm probably the only one it's going to let touch it now."

"That's incredible. I've never heard of anything like that." Mrs. Weasley frowned, peering over her glasses at the wand now.

"It feels just right though. Like part of me."

"That's how wands are supposed to feel." Ron said as he and Luna came out of the fireplace.

"Mine feels like part of me too." Luna grinned and dug into her mother's bag, seemingly nonplussed as to how much it could hold. She pulled out her own wand box and opened up the package. "See Gramma?" Luna's wand was made of a dark wood, shining as though it had just been polished, a band of silver where the handle met the shaft. "Ten inches, oak and dragon heartstring."

"Oooh… your wand is pretty too, Luna." Lily said, admiring it.

"They're both lovely." Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Though, you should probably keep them in their boxes until September. You don't want to accidentally do any spells and get written up for them before you've even started school. Lily, why don't you and Luna bring your things up to Ginny's room for now? Granddad will find you a trunk to take to school later."

"Alright, Gramma." Lily nodded and she and Luna gathered up the books and cauldron and other things and together, carried them up the stairs to the little bedroom on the first landing. Lily set her wand box on the bedside table.

"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts so we can use our wands." Said Luna with a sigh. She helped Lily unload the books in her cauldron onto the desk so they could examine them better. A scream came from downstairs, causing them to run for the door and back down the stairs to find out what was going on.

"A puffskein! How did that get in the house? Did one of you leave the door open again?" Mrs. Weasley was up on a chair, looking down at Quaffle who was shuddering under the table as through her screaming had frightened him. Lily ran to gather him up in her arms and he rolled himself to hide his face away from the world against her chest.

"He's mine, Gramma. Isn't he sweet?" Lily frowned, turning Quaffle around. "He's just a baby…"

"I told her it was ok, Mum." Ginny said as she came down the stairs. "Ron had one when we were younger, remember?"

"Of course I remember. It was always trying to eat the insides of my nose. I'd close the bedroom door and lock it, but it still somehow managed to find a way in."

"That's because Fred and George would pick the lock and let him in." Ginny laughed. "Quaffle won't be doing any of that. Lily's going to keep an eye on him, right Lily?"

"Yes, I will." Lily nodded, hugging her puffskein tightly.

"Besides, she'll be off to school in about a week, so you won't have to worry about him longer than that. And you liked Ron's puffskein when it wasn't trying to eat your bogies."

"Well… I suppose…" Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Alright. But you keep your bedroom door shut, Lily. And if he so much as tries to get at my nose, it's out into the hen house for him, understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Lily nodded again and looked at Luna. "The lady at the shop said we can use him to play catch so long as we're not rough. Want to?"

"Oh yes!" Luna grinned and she and Lily ran out the door and into the back garden. Harry made to follow them, but was stopped by his mother.

"Don't even think about it. You're too much like your uncles to be trusted around a puffskein."

"Aw, but mum…"

"Don't you but me. Now go help your grandmother with the dishes. She's frazzled enough as it is." Harry moped, dragging his feet over to the sink where he took up a sponge and got to work under his mother's stern gaze.

"Nevvy's out cold." Ginny told Hermione once it was clear Harry would be occupied for the next half an hour or so by pretending the sponge was a boat. "I put her up in the nursery for now."

"Good, she should sleep until dinner then, which is perfect." Ron sat down in a chair and relaxed for a moment before his mother was shooing him off of it.

"Ronald, I need you to go out into the backyard and gather the chickens. They need to be put away in their coup so that they don't cause a ruckus later. And I need you and Hermione to magic those old tables in the shed together. We're going to have to eat out in the garden tonight. There just isn't enough room in here for everyone, what with the children coming along as well." Mrs. Weasley said, looking a little bit frazzled. She'd managed this large dinners a bit more easily years ago, but in her aging state, she needed just a bit more help than she used to. She had to have everything perfect for her family, not that they would have minded if it was way less than perfect. "Harry stop doing those dishes, I can magic those. Why don't you go put the chickens up for your parents?"

"Sure, Gramma." Harry bolted out of the door, appearently thrilled to be getting out of the house.

"And stay away from that puffskein!"

After much cleaning was done and the stove was covered in hot pots and pans full of food, the fireplace in the kitchen turned bright green and the first of the Weasley children stepped out of it. It turned into a never ending spout of red hair and children for the next ten minutes. Bill and Fleur with Dominique and Caprice came first, shortly followed by George, Angelina, Marcus, and Fred. Then Percy showed up, toting along his oldest, Molly, stating that his wife and son had caught something and regrettably wouldn't be joining them tonight. Mr. Weasley arrived home shortly after this, joined by none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Kingsley! What a lovely surprise!" Mrs. Weasley smiled at him and pulled out a chair. But Kingsley shook his head.

"I've come on business, Molly. Perhaps we could send the children outside… just until dinner is ready of course. Keep them out from under foot."

"Oh! Well, certaintly!" Mrs. Weasley moved about the kitchen, ushering out her grandchildren until only adults remained in the house. They all made themselves comfortable around the table as Kingsley moved to the window and peered out.

"Arthur has told me about your guest. That's her, I assume?" He pointed out of the window at Lily who was currently up on one of the lower branches of the garden trees, looking as though she was rescuing her puffskein whom had bounced a little too high and gotten himself stuck. Kingsley drew the curtain and spun back around. "Now, in light of certain… recent events… Mainly, I am referring to the current collapse of a train tunnel in the London underground that led to the death of over a hundred Muggles. Now, since the Muggle engineering experts say that the tunnel had just been inspected and found in perfect working condition, we believe this may not have been an accident. I, and a few others from the Magical Law Enforcement team, went to investigate and we found traces of dark magic." There were gasps from around the table. "This means, that either the Death Eaters we were not able to catch and imprison are making themselves known, or there is a new group of dark wizards trying to do the same. And since we are fairly certain we have caught all of the Death Eaters at this point, we are looking for evidence of a new group. It is common knowledge now, that the Order of the Phoenix exists, although we have not had a meeting in many years. If there is a new group of dark wizards out there, I wouldn't put it past them to try and infiltrate the Order so as to gain information whilst conveying messages to the rest of their gang. They would have to be cunning and make themselves incredibly trustworthy in order for us to allow them to join us. Which brings me back to the girl…"

"You think Lily is a spy?" Ginny said, her face growing red. "She's a little girl for Merlin's sake!"

"Polyjuice potion can…"

"There isn't a dark bone in that child's body." Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "Besides, she'll be going off to Hogwarts in about a week's time, so why would they try and infiltrate us with a child? She won't be here to do any infiltrating! She's not a dark wizard."

"She could easily have been sent to gather information about whom is in the Order, to locate the weakest link among us, and to allow someone to worm their way into our midst through them."

"She received a letter to Hogwarts this morning!" Ginny stood up, quite enraged at this point. She held her wand in her hand, pointing it at Kingsley in pure irritation.

"Sit down, Ginny." Arthur placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, pushing her back down into her chair.

"Letters can be easily written by anyone if you know precisely what they're supposed to say, and in the case of Hogwarts letters, they would be very easy to copy. For first years especially, they all say the same exact thing, except for the name of the child." Kingsley explained, reaching his hand out to take Ginny's wand from her before she was tempted further. "I have brought along some veritaserum. We can easily spike her juice with it and discover what she knows, or if this note…" He held up the letter that had come with Lily. "Arthur showed me is factual."

"No." Ginny spoke up again, snatching her wand away from Kingsley. "You're not spiking anybody's juice with anything, Kingsley. I understand what you're getting at, but Lily isn't some kind of dark wizard in disguise. She's a kid."

"We just need to be safe. It is in everyone's best interest, and if she is who she appears to be, then the veritaserum won't harm him at all."

"You're not going to interrogate a ten year old!"

"She's ten? I was under the impression she was eleven…"

"She'll be eleven on the thirtieth. Just in time to start school."

"Ginny, please. Calm down. We mean the girl no harm whatsoever. We just need to be sure that she is who she is. And once we're positive of that, we can get to figuring out whom would leave a child on the Burrow's doorstep."

"I already know who it was." Ginny scoffed, reaching out and taking the letter from Kingsley and holding it up. "I know this hand writing like I know my own."

"Whose is it?"

"Harry Potter's." Ginny stated boldly, her words ringing in the silence of the room. She could feel the pitying eyes of her family upon her, but she kept her gaze firmly on Kingsley.

"Ginny, Harry is dead. He's been dead for years, and we all saw his body. We buried him. You were there." Ron said finally, his voice quiet, as though trying not to tempt a crazy person further.

"Hermione! You corrected Harry's papers for six years! Tell me this isn't his hand writing!" Ginny thrust the letter to her sister-in-law who overlooked it. "Those are Harry's g's."

"They are… very similar." Hermione said, eyeing the letter curiously, her brow furrowed. "But Ginny, Ron and Kingsley are right. Harry is gone. Voldemort murdered him."

"Hermione, I can feel it in my soul. I've always been able too. He's not dead!" Ginny said, her eyes wild. "She has one of his eyes! And his hair! And his nose!" She raged, rising from her chair again. George immediately wrapped his arms around her from behind and Kingsley took her wand. Ginny struggled, her face red. But she didn't cry… she refused to cry.

"Gramma, I…" All eyes turned, unaware that the door had opened and Lily had entered upon the scene. Her strange eyes widened slightly, her puffskein in her arms. "What's going on?" She looked from Mrs. Weasley to Ginny and then to Mrs. Weasley again, confusion on her face. She couldn't understand what they were doing, or why Ginny seemed so upset.

"Oh, just grown-up things." Kingsley said automatically, moving forward. He handed Mrs. Weasley her daughter's wand and bent slightly to look at Lily properly. He held out his hand. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, and your's?"

"Lily Carpenter." Lily said, taking his hand, soothed slightly by the big man's calming voice. She turned her attention back to Mrs. Weasley, still wondering why Ginny seemed mad but not knowing if she should ask or not. "Gramma, Quaffle's stomach is growling. Can he have a snack? I'm not so sure he'll understand waiting for dinner, because he's a baby."

"Of… of course." Mrs. Weasley moved to the cupboard and pulled out a packet of graham crackers. "Puffskeins enjoy these… here, dear." She handed a couple of the crackers to Lily who smiled. "Now run along back outside."

"Thanks, Gramma." Lily beamed and bolted out the door again, toting both puffskein and crackers with her. Once she was gone, Ginny spoke again.

"See? She resembles him."

"I do see where you might think that." Kingsley stated, kinder now that Ginny had lowered her voice to something less accusatory. "But Harry wasn't the only person on the planet with emerald eyes and black hair, Ginny. He's not ever the only person with his hand writing… there are too many people for any one feature to be solely one's own. She seems like a sweet girl, though. But I still would like to make absolutely certain."

"She's Harry's." Ginny shook her head. "I'm positive."

"You're nutters." George said, gripping her tighter as she squirmed against his hold further more now.

"I'm not nutters! That is Harry Potter's daughter! Her name is Lily! Just like Harry's mum! And she looks like him, and the note has his hand writing! There's no way all of it could be mere coincidences!"

"There was a birthmark…" Mrs. Weasley said slowly. "The one on her ankle. It's shaped like lightening."

"Like Harry's scar!"

"Coincidences are more likely than Harry having a child. He. Is. Gone." Kingsley said, trying to calm Ginny now, as she thrashed further. "If you don't calm down, we might have to admit you to St. Mungo's to have you treated for latent post-traumatic stress."

"I do not have post-traumatic stress! She's Harry's! There is no other explanation! I've always said he didn't die that night, I always have!" Ginny broke free of George and made for her wand.

"Stupify!" Kingsley shouted. A blast of red light hit Ginny and she crumpled to the floor. "I'm sorry…" He said to the rest of the Weasleys. "She needs help. Her head isn't right."

"It's alright, Kingsley. We understand. She's finally gone mad with grief." Arthur nodded, lifting his daughter up off of the floor. "I'll take her to St. Mungo's myself. They can help her better than we can." He picked up Ginny's wand and headed for the fire place. Mrs. Weasley kissed Ginny's forehead sadly as her husband took a handful of Floor powder. He stepped into the fire, dropped the powder, and shouted. "St. Mungo's!" And he disappeared.

"To think our Ginny would ever go mad." George said, shaking his head.

"She lost the love of her life when she was sixteen. You'd probably go mad too." Hermione scoffed before turning to her husband. "I think I should probably go with them, Ron." Ron nodded, knowing Hermione was the closest to Ginny when it came to matters like this.

"Go on. The kids and I'll be ok." Hermione kissed him and then spun on the spot, disapparating with a loud crack. The timer on the stove rung and Mrs. Weasley rushed to turn off the heat.

"Dinner is ready. Everyone outside, we'll be eating in the garden." The Weasleys and Kingsley headed out through the door into the graden. "Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called to her gaggle of grandchildren. They came rushing for the tables, taking their seats eagerly, some of them clambering for one next to Kingsley who was sort of a celebrity among them.

"Where's Aunt Ginny?" Luna asked as she sat down next to Lily, looking around at the rest of them. "And mum and Granddad?"

"They had some things to take care of, but don't worry about it." Ron said immediatly, taking the other seat next to his daughter and setting Nevvy, who he had retrieved from the nursery while everyone else had headed outside, into the chair on his other side.

"Oh. Ok." Luna nodded and reached for the cup of pumpkin juice that was being sent down the table, handing it to her father, who handed it to Harry, who passed it along until it reached the end with Marcus, who kept it. Nobody saw Kingsley slipping a small vial back into his pocket as he handed Lily her cup and sat on her other side.

"Do you like pumpkin juice, Lily?"

"I've never had it."

"Well, why don't you give it a try." Kingsley prodded her and she lifted her cup to her lips, sipping at the juice. As soon as it hit her tongue, Lily knew this was something she could get used to drinking. She chugged the rest of it and then held out her cup.

"May I have some more, please? It's better than even apple juice."

"Did your parents give you apple juice most of the time?"

"I… I think so. I can't really remember much about my parents."

"No?" Kingsley raised an eyebrow and Lily shrugged.

"No. But Ginny said it's because I was sick for a bit and not to worry about it, because this is my family, even if I don't remember them from before yesterday."

"Do you remember where you're from?"

"Oh yes. Just not people."

"Just not people… hmmm… that's very strange." Kingsley frowned and poured some more juice into Lily's cup for her. She already had the veritaserum in her system. There was no way she was lying to him about anything. "Where are you from?"

"The United States."

"Ah, I thought I placed your accent." Kingsley grinned, taking the plate of chicken that was now being passed around the table and placing a couple pieces onto his plate.

"I don't have an accent. It's all of your who have accents." Lily stuck her tongue out at him and took a piece of chicken for herself. She cut off a piece of it and reached her hand under the table to feed it to Quaffle who was bouncing beside her chair.

"Do you remember the town you lived in?"

"I… no. I only remember it was northern." Lily frowned, as though discovering this information had made her quite uneasy. "It's bad that I don't remember much. But… if I hit my head when I got sick… that could have made it so I don't remember, though I don't know why I would only remember certain things and not others. I remember Quidditch… and my bedroom and that I went to a Muggle school to learn my writing and math, but not any of my friends or teachers. It's actually really scary. But I try not to think about it, because Gramma and Ginny love me. And I know that maybe I'll remember someday, once my head heals. Sometimes it hurts. Like somebody extracted bits of my brain… or maybe just my memory. I think maybe something bad must have happened to my parents. Because nobody has told me where they are yet, and I don't think they want to. But since I can't remember them, I can't be sad. I love my family… I'm safe here." Lily nodded to herself, unable to keep all of her thoughts from spewing from her mouth. She'd been thinking them every since she'd woken up in that strange new room, but she was still at that age where she supposed most adults knew what they were talking about. "Do you know my parents?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't. I wish I could help you on that one, but you'll just have to wait. Say, have you ever heard of the Order of the Pheonix?"

"The Order of the what?" Lily asked, looking confused. Kingsley gave a sigh of relief and gave her a tight one armed hug, feeling bad for her. Ginny was right. She was just a little girl and that letter was at least factual in one respect. Someone had put a Memory Charm on Lily. Who though, he wished he knew.

"Never you mind. It doesn't matter. Go ahead and eat your dinner."

* * *

Yay! Another chappie! I really hope you liked it! Reveiw if you wanna, I appreciate them. Lemme know what you think of it so far, and if there's anything I should work on.

Love always,

S.Q.O.


	5. Birthday

Disclaimer: JK Rowling's... blah blah blah, same old stuff I say every chapter.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Five: Birthday_

_"_Hey, Gramma?" Lily questioned as Mrs. Weasley tucked her in and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Will Ginny be coming to my birthday party tomorrow?"

It had been a week since Lily had shown up on the doorstep, and Mrs. Weasley was a bit sad that she would have to be sending her off to school in just under two days' time. She was an absolute delight to have around the house, and it made her miss the days when Ginny had been younger and left behind while her brother's had gone off to school. Mrs. Weasley's life work had been her children… watching them grow and giving them the means in order to help them become the people they were today. Her grandchildren would come and stay over every now and then, to give their parents some alone time, but it was never more than just a night. She had missed having someone to put to bed every night… to tuck in and make sure they were secure. She even missed the nights they had bad dreams and would come crying to snuggle up between her and Arthur. She'd had one night, back when Ginny was just a few months old and Bill was about ten, when all seven children ended up in their bed. She had relished that night, her entire family safe and sound where she knew where they were. That had been about a month before Voldemort had disappeared and times were still scary.

"I don't think so, dear. She's still quite ill, and it would be best if she stayed in bed. But we'll send her some cake, alright?" Mrs. Weasley bent down and lifted the puffskein up onto the bed. She had to admit, he was quite well behaved compared to the last one. He seemed to know what would happen if his tongue snaked up her nose. "Now, you and Quaffle get some sleep."

"Alright. Good night Gramma, I love you." Lily's arms reached up to wrap around Mrs. Weasley's neck and Mrs. Weasley gripped onto her tightly. Yes, she was certainly going to miss this. She rose from the bed, pulling Lily's covers up tighter. It was summer, but another storm had come roaring in that evening, covering the outdoors with a thick sheet of cold rain.

"Good night dear. I love you too." Mrs. Weasley stroked Lily's hair back, gave the puffskein a pat, and moved to the door. She flicked the light off and slipped out, closing the door only partially so that just a bit of the light in the hallway could shine in.

"How is she?" Mrs. Weasley almost jumped as Mr. Weasley came up the stairs from behind her.

"She's asking after Ginny again. Arthur, I don't know what it is about those two. First Ginny obviously fell in love with her, and who could blame her for that? But now Lily is persistent. 'Where's Ginny? When is she coming back? Will she be at my party? Will I see her before school? Can we go visit her?' They spent one day together and it's like they were meant to be glued to the other's hip. It's a bit overwhelming. What does one say to those types of questions?"

Mr. Weasley nodded and took his wife's hand, leading her away from the door and into their own bedroom. "The Healers say Ginny's making progress in adjusting her mindset to believing that Harry's gone. They said a few more days, and they should be able to release her. Perhaps she'll get out in time to meet us at King's Cross."

"Oh Arthur, I do hope so."

The next day, the sky cleared, leaving the garden at the Burrow in a state of sunshiney summertimeness that was almost intoxicating to all those present in the house. The smell of rain mixed with the warmth of sun and the green growth was one of those rare smells that almost out-magicked magic, but not quite.

"Lily, dear." Mrs. Weasley slipped into the bedroom while Lily was poking through the closet, looking for a birthday outfit. So far that week she'd gone through most of the clothes of Ginny's that fit her and, being a typical girl sometimes, wanted something different for her birthday at least. "I know it's your birthday, but I've got a trunk here for you to take to Hogwarts." Mrs. Weasley dragged the large old thing into the bedroom. "We'll probably have to empty it out first though. It still has Ginny's school things in it."

"Oh!" Lily looked up from where she sat on the floor and bolted from it, standing to inspect the trunk curiously. It was beaten up but sturdy, obviously a hand-me-down from one of Mrs. Weasley's older boys, possibly Bill judging by the initials on the side that someone had tried to ink out and replace with a G.

"Careful now. I'm not sure what's in here." Mrs. Weasley set the trunk down and popped it open, revealing piles of old robes and school books.

"I can clean it out and put things away, Gramma."

"Alright, just make sure you don't forget any of your things. I don't want to have to rush tomorrow morning."

"I will." Lily grinned at her reassuringly and Mrs. Weasley left her to it, deciding it best if she got started on that birthday cake she had planned.

Lily tugged out the old school robes first, giving them a shake and hanging them up in the closet. Either Ginny would want to keep them, or give them to one of the secondhand stores in Diagon Alley. She pulled out shabby old books covered in doodles and writing on their insides and stowed them away on one of the shelves before things got interesting. The debris towards the bottom of the trunk didn't look like it had been disturbed in years.

Old broken quills, empty ink bottles, scattered bits of parchement, old school girl notes… Lily went through it all, tossing trash into the bin beside the desk and keeping the things she thought Ginny might like to have. Before she knew it, the trunk was empty, the bottom bare of even scraps of paper. She put her own things into the trunk now. First her cauldron, then her books and potion ingredients, her uniforms, some cleaner clothes to wear during times that she didn't have to spend in uniform, the bag of pranks George had given her, and Ginny's old rag doll. Frowning, she grabbed the rag doll back up before she closed the trunk. Instead, she placed the doll into the old messenger bag she would be taking with her on the train.

Content with her packing job, Lily went back to the closet. Her red dress hung there among the others, and she grabbed it, thinking that she'd like to wear it today. She tugged off her night gown and slipped the dress on over her head. As she did so, something rubbed against her cheek and she tugged the dress back off, feeling about it. It was a bit bulgy… and there was something hard here… She groped at it and dug her hand down into the dress. Metal met her fingers, and after feeling it for another moment, she discovered that it was a pin. She undid it, and from between the two layers of her skirt, fell something silvery. She frowned and bent down to pick it up. Holding it out in front of her, she saw that it was a cloak of sorts, thought a very thin one. This had to be something that had come along with her… of course it had! It was inside her dress after all.

Figuring that she'd better take it with her, Lily folded up the cloak and placed it among her robes in her trunk. Satisfied, she pulled her red dress back on and did up the buttons on the front. She let her hair hang down and pushed it back with a satiny hair band. Not bothering to grab shoes, because she hadn't really bothered with them much in the past week, preferring to go outside bare footed, she headed downstairs. Quaffle bounced after her. He was never far behind, preferring to stick close to Lily's side as opposed to wandering off on his own.

Lily wandered over to the counter where Mrs. Weasley was mixing something in a bowl. "Can I help with something, Gramma?"

"If you want to be helpful, why don't you go degnome the garden?"

"I've never degnomed a garden before." Lily frowned and looked around the kitchen.

"Just grab them by the feet and give them a twirl, then toss them over the hedge as far as you can. They'll be disoriented and if we're lucky, they'll leave for good. Rotten nuisances."

"That sounds terrible!" Lily said in shock, not quite understanding how Mrs. Weasley could want to get rid of the gnomes in the first place. She'd seen a few of them… and they looked kind of like cute potatoes… except most potatoes were ugly. "I don't think it'd be very nice to degnome the garden, Gramma. Isn't there anything else?"

"Well, I suppose you could feed the chickens and bring in the wash. Just don't let anything drag on the ground."

"I can do that." Lily nodded and skipped out the open kitchen door, Quaffle rolling after her and bouncing over the doorjamb. Mrs. Weasley laughed at the sight of them and went back to stirring the batter for the cake. She'd just gotten a good idea of what it should look like.

Lily grabbed the bucket of chicken feed off the hook outside the hen house and scattered it about the ground, watching as the feathered creatures pecked at it. Once she'd given them a few good handfuls, she made her way over to the laundry line where their clothes were blowing in the wind, dry and smelling of sunshine. Mrs. Weasley had set the basket down near one of the poles and Lily carefully placed it beneath each item of clothing before she stood up on her tip toes to detach the clothes pins. She let the clothes drop, one by one, safely into the wicker basket.

Upon having gotten most of the clothes off, the line had slowly gotten higher, the weight no longer pulling it down to where Lily could reach it. She frowned and then looked down at her puffskein, who bounced happily. "Hey, Quaffle? D'you think you could get those pins off for me?" She picked up the little creature and tossed him up and over the line. His tongue shot out and caught hold of the clothes pin as he flew over it and then landed softly in the basket of clean clothing. Lily busted out in giggles, bending down to pick up her pet and toss him again. He was an intelligent little thing…

Once the clothes were safely in the basket, Lily carried it into the house, tottering slightly under the weight. "Gramma, I'm done."

"Good job!" Mrs. Weasley took the basket from her and carried it into the little scullery off of the kitchen so that she could fold and press them before she put them away.

"Happy birthday, Lily!" Lily spun around as the fire in the kitchen fireplace turned green and Ron stepped out of it, carrying Nevvy.

"Birffay!" The toddley shouted, clapping her hands as she was set down on the floor. She scampered away in the direction of Mrs. Weasley who was visible through the doorway to the scullery.

"Thanks." Lily grinned and hugged Ron. He and Hermione had come round with the rest of their family for every dinner that past week. Hermione and Luna appeared shortly after, the little brown haired girl bouncing to hug her cousin tightly.

"Lily!"

"Luna!" The two had automatically formed one of those close bonds only understood by children. Harry came popping out of the fire a moment later, a couple of brightly colored packages in his arms.

"I've got the presents!" He announced proudly, dropping the gifts down on the table. "I made one of them. Nevvy helped." He indicated the more lopsided of the two packages and Lily laughed happily, letting go of Luna to give Harry a hug too, which he pushed off muttering something about not wanting to get cooties.

"Mum, d'you need us to set up the tables?" Ron asked as Mrs. Weasley came out of the scullery holding Nevvy.

"That would be wonderful."

"Luna, I've got to show you something." Lily grabbed her cousin's hand and the two of them, along with the puffskein, headed up the stairs to her little bedroom. Lily closed the door behind them and locked it. "I was getting dressed, and this fell out of my dress."

Lily opened the trunk and pulled out the silvery cloak. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Oh!" Luna reached out and took it from her, eyeing it curiously. "It's amazing! It feels like water… Where did it come from, d'you think?"

"I don't know. It was just pinned up in here." Lily pointed to the skirt of her dress. "Like someone was trying to hide it, but I don't remember if it was there before I got here to stay with Gramma or not."

"Maybe it's a secret birthday present? Here… put it on.

"Maybe." Lily took the cloak back and swung it up and around her body. It was too big for her, dragging on her floor. She reached back and pulled on the hood, letting it fall down over her face as Luna gave a loud gasp. "Well? How does it look?"

"I don't know! I can't see you at all!"

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean you're invisible!" Luna pointed to the mirror above the dresser. "Look!"

Lily turned and stepped into range of the mirror. She waved a hand in the air and gasped. She couldn't see herself either! "Oh my Merlin…" She tugged the hood off and Luna jumped. Lily could understand why… the mirror only showed her seemingly disembodied head floating about four and a half feet above the ground.

"It's an invisibility cloak!" Luna said excitedly, her voice dropping, as though worried their family down stairs would hear them. "My mum and dad told me about them… their friend Harry had one once. You know, the one who died?"

"Ginny's long lost love?" Lily tugged the cloak off entirely and handed it to Luna who pulled it on, giggling.

"Oh yes. The very same. It was very special to him, so they buried him with it. Like, when a wizard died, he gets wrapped in his favorite robes or cloak with his wand and then they put him in his tomb. Most of them are stone chambers that get buried under the ground, like a coffin, only better. Because it preserves the body better, my mum says. Anyway, they wrapped Harry in his invisibility cloak. They're really rare though."

"Usually made from demiguise hair." Lily said, pointing to her open trunk. "I read about the demiguise in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book. I also found out about my wand cores too. An augarey is an Irish phoenix who sings before it rains, and a porlock is a horse guardian. Wow, you're gone!"

"But I'm not!" Luna laughed, spinning around, making the cloak fly up and off of her feet so that they showed. She danced about before taking the cloak off and handing it back to Lily. Lily folded it up and put it back into her trunk.

"I think we should keep it a secret. Just for us."

"Yeah!" Luna beamed brightly, apparently very pleased to be let in on this very secret of secrets.

"Girls! Lunch is ready!" Hermione called up the stairs and they cousins bounced slightly in shock. Lily quickly stowed the cloak away towards the middle of her trunk and closed the lid as a knocking came upon the door. "What are you up to in there?"

"Nothing, Mum." Luna rushed to unlock the door and open it. "I was just about to give Lily her birthday present. Here, Lily!" She presented a red woven bracelet, wooden letter beads braided into it. "It says your name on it."

Lily took her bracelet and beamed, hugging Luna. "Oh! Thank you! It's so pretty!"

"I've got one too, see?" Luna held up her own wrist where an identical red bracelet sat, her own name in wooden letters upon it. "Cause you're my best friend."

"You're my best friend too." Lily laughed, holding out her wrist. Luna helped her tie her bracelet onto it and then hugged her again. Hermione smiled down at them.

"Alright girls, come along." The three of them headed down the stairs and out the back door, Quaffle rolling after them, humming happily.

In the time the two girls had been up in Lily's bedroom, the rest of the Weasley family had arrived and gathered around the tables out in the garden for the second time that week. They wished Lily a happy birthday, ate dinner, and handed out presents. Lily was quite excited when she discovered Harry and Nevvy's present was a haphazardly made and sewn patchwork unicorn and that Ginny had sent her tickets to a Holyhead Harpies game that would take place over the winter break. It was the cake however, that had her reeling.

Mrs. Weasley came across the lawn, a great giant frosted masterpiece floating along in front of her so as not to drop it by accident if she tripped. The thing was covered in custard colored cotton candy and had a pair of big black eyes made out of chocolate. It was quite obvious that it was a puffskein.

"Oh my Merlin, Gramma!" Lily exclaimed as the cake floated down to land in front of her and Mrs. Weasley placed ten candles and a sparkler into the top and lit them. "Oh!" Lily's odd eyes were wide as she watched them burn, all different colors. Nevvy was squealing delightedly from her mother's lap. Lily took a breath and blew out the candles and the rest of her family clapped. "Oh Gramma! It's the best cake ever! Thank you!" Lily hugged Mrs. Weasley around the waist tightly and Mrs. Weasley patted her head.

"I'm glad you like it dear."

"Last year, I got a Bludger that really flew!" Harry told Lily excitedly. "Gramma makes the best cakes." Mrs. Weasley blushed and cut the cake, serving it to them all and even giving a whole piece to Quaffle.

"She's also the best Gramma on the planet." There was a smattering of agreement from the rest of the children present and Mrs. Weasley's face turned redder than Lily's dress.

"I hope it tastes alright. It's a treacle cake. I wasn't sure if they had that where you're from."

"I've never heard of it…" Lily shook her head and took a bite of her cake. Her eyes lit up wide and she shoved another forkful into her mouth almost at once. It was like the pumpkin juice all over again. Once she tasted it, she wasn't sure she'd be able to get enough. "It's amazing! I think this is my new favorite."

"It makes a great pie too. I'll make you some tarts for the train tomorrow." Mrs. Weasley laughed and took her own seat once everyone had their cake.

"I'd like that." Lily beamed at her.

Once the plates had all been cleared away from the tables and the adults had lounged back in their chairs feeling quite bloated with the deliciousness of Mrs. Weasley's cooking, the sun had moved from being mid-afternoon, to early summer evening. It cast a slightly orange glow over everything, making the garden feel even more wonderful than it already did. It sank lower and lower, until there were only a few rays left. The fireflies and fairies came out, flitting about the garden, all differently colored. The younger children chased after them until they were worn out and it was time for most of them to return home.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lily!" Luna called as Lily headed up the stairs to get ready for bed.

"See you tomorrow, Luna." The two girls grinned at each other, both probably too excited about starting school tomorrow to sleep.

* * *

Hehe. Another one already! I'm doing so well at keeping up with this one... maybe too well. Hmmm... Anyways, lemme know what you think! I'd love to hear from you and you can make suggestions on what you'd like to see happen next. Or maybe give me a line to try and work into it. That would be fun!

Always with love,

S.Q.O.


	6. Train

Disclaimer: Have I said it enough yet? Except for the characters you don't recognize, the other ones and the settings belong to JKR.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Six: Train_

"Oh, I can't wait! I can't wait!" Lily squealed as Mr. Weasley packed her trunk into the back of his car. Mrs. Weasley had allowed him to get it after he had sworn a thousand times over and signed a written agreement that he would not, under any circumstances, no matter how tempting it was… enchant it to fly. He had, however, not made any promises about not installing any magical features, such as the wizarding radio or the two in one coffee and cocoa maker for longer journeys.

"Lily! Don't forget your shoes!" Mrs. Weasley came barreling out of the house, holding a pair of Lily's sandles. She'd already shoved her school shoes, socks, underwear, and a toothbrush into the top of Lily's trunk after finding them still in the closet, drawers, and bathroom. "Now, you are absolutely positive you've packed every little thing? You have your robes?"

"Yes."

"Your books?"

"Yes."

"Your winter cloak?"

"Yes." '_And my silver one_', Lily thought to herself. She was also wearing her red one over a black dress of Ginny's, the sunshine of the day before overcast with clouds threatening to pour rain down upon them again.

"Hair brush?"

"And a whole bag of accessories. Gramma, I double and triple checked it after you reminded me about my underwear and socks. I even filled out the chart you make me." Lily said, tugging the piece of paper out of her pocket and handing it to Mrs. Weasley who looked it over.

"Well... alright. But if you find you've left anything behind, you just send us an owl, and we'll get it to you." Mrs. Weasley fumbled, straightening Lily's hair bow and the collar of the dress she was wearing. "And we'll see you this December. And we'll you every day and you can write back all you want, but at least three times a week, ok?"

"Gramma, we haven't even left yet. I think this is the part where we get in the car." Lily laughed, hugging her and turning to open the door. "Are you sure Ginny's not coming?" She held the door open for Quaffle to bounce up and into the back seat. She climbed in after him and tugged the belt down and around herself, buckling it up securely. She reached over and took her puffskein in her lap, not wanting him to roll all over the car once they got started.

"I'm afraid not." Mrs. Weasley climbed into the front seat beside Arthur who started the car and buckled himself in. He put the car in gear and started off down the long dirt lane that led to the Burrow from the village of Ottery St. Catchpole. "She wishes she could, but she said to send you her love and that she'll see you around Christmas. And just think! You get to go to one of her Quidditch games with Luna! Won't that be fun?" Obviously, Mrs. Weasley was trying to change the subject to something a little less serious.

"Yeah, it will." Lily smiled and leaned back in her seat, watching the world go by. It changed fairly quickly, going from countryside, to houses, to the city of London once they got off of the high way. It wasn't long before they were pulling into a parking space at King's Cross Station and tugging her trunk out of the car. Mr. Weasley went and grabbed a trolley and hoisted the trunk up onto it. Lily kept a tight hold on her puffskein in one arm, and Mrs. Weasley's hand with the other. They received some strange looked from Muggle passerby, but Lily figured it was just because she was toting along a humming furball. Indeed, that would look strange to Muggles, but they would probably just write it off as being some kind of plush toy and not a bouncing little creature of which they had absolutely no knowledge.

"Here we are." Mr. Weasley smiled as they reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "Now, Lily. This is actually the easy part. We're going to go through the wall."

"Through the what!" Lily asked in shock, obviously having not been informed of this prior to her first year. Whoever had told her about Hogwarts in the first place, had either forgotten to mention this little detail, or had Obliviated it out of her memory. "Are you sure? That thing is solid rock!"

"If you're nervous, it's best to take it at a run. That way you can't usually stop yourself in time and before you know it, you're through. Otherwise, it's a bit less noticeable if we just lean up against it and slip through." Mrs. Weasley gave Lily's hand a squeeze and led her closer to the barrier. "Granddad will show you. Go on Arthur. I'll take her through after she sees."

Mr. Weasley smiled and backed the trolley up a bit and then broke into a run, apparently enjoying the thought of running into a solid wall of rock. Lily bit her lip, waiting for him to hit the wall and fall down, but he didn't. As soon as the trolley touched the wall it and Mr. Weasley slide right on through it… like a hot knife through warm gooshy butter. She looked up at Mrs. Weasley, astounded.

"There you have it. Now then, on three we'll run." Mrs. Weasley gripped Lily's hand tighter and Lily held onto Quaffle even more firmly. "One… two… three!" They broke into a run, Lily's legs having a little trouble keeping up. As soon as she saw that wall come up directly in front of her, her instinct was to braaaake! But she just bit her lip and closed her eyes tight, ready for impact… but it never came. Suddenly the wall was there, and then… she could hear noise all around her.

Opening her eyes, Lily gasped, taking in the giant scarlet steam engine whose name was emblazoned on its side in gold. The Hogwarts Express. Everywhere she looked there were families with their children… some students were already in their Hogwarts robes, but others were mostly still in their Muggle attire. Steam blew all around them from the train. Lily gripped onto Mrs. Weasley's hand tighter still, not wanting to get lost in the crowd, though, judging by the amount of red hair here, it wouldn't be hard to find a familiar face to cop hold to. Mr. Weasley wasn't far off… he was already loading her trunk onto the train.

"Lily!" Luna came barreling down the platform, closely followed by one of their older cousins, Caprice, who wore a shining badge with a HG on it upon the chest of her black Hogwarts robes. "Lily, this is it! We're going to Hogwarts! Have you got your wand?"

"My wand… oh no! Gramma! I forgot my wand!" Lily exclaimed in absolute horror, groping at her pockets as through it would appear out of nowhere.

"Your wand is right here, dear." Mrs. Weasley laughed, pulling the box out of Lily's school bag and opening it. The wand was snug in its box."I stuck it in there before we left. I didn't want to send you off with the box as well, there's a special pocket in your robes to keep it, but it burned me when I tried."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Gramma!" Lily reached into the box and pulled out her wand, gripping it tightly, feeling better now that she knew exactly where it was. She slipped it into the inside pocket of her red cloak and tied the strings on it shut, not wanting to lose it. "Are you ok?"

"Nothing to worry about. Minor burns are easily healed, now then… you've got everything… you have your puffskein…"

"I'm all set, Gramma." Lily said, biting her lip as she looked nervously at the train. She wasn't so sure about going anymore. Her stomach was tying itself all up in knots and she grabbed a hold of Mrs. Weasley's skirt. "I… Um… maybe this is a bad idea?"

"Oh, Lily." Mrs. Weasley hugged her tightly. "You'll be just fine. And if you need me, I'm never so far away that I can't apparate to Hogsmeade and come up to the school. But you won't need me. You've got Luna and all of your other cousins, all nine, well, eight of them. Nevvy's too little for school."

"I'm with you, Lily." Luna said, reaching out and taking her hand.

"And I'm here too, if you guys need anything. I'm Head Girl." Caprice stated somewhat smugly, her chest puffing up with pride. She was Bill's daughter, but sometimes it felt like she should have been born to Percy. Maybe it was just in the Weasley genes.

"Oh! You got head girl! That's wonderful, Caprice!" Mrs. Weasley beamed with pride, bestowing her eldest grandchild with a one armed hug, her other arm preoccupied with the little ebony haired anxious one.

"Thanks, Grandmother." Caprice beamed back.

Mrs. Weasley pried Lily out of her skirts and hugged her tightly with both arms now, giving her a kiss. "Alright, you don't want to miss the train." Lily threw her arms around Mrs. Weasley's neck and clung onto her. Luna had run off to say good bye to her parents as well, though she didn't seem to be the least bit nervous about going off to Hogwarts.

"I'll miss you. I love you, Gramma."

"I'll miss you too Lily, dear. Remember, any time you need me, just owl. I love you." Lily nodded and let go, moving to hug Mr. Weasley as well now.

"Be a good girl, we'll see you soon." He gave her a kiss as well and then lifted her up and placed her onto the train through one of the doors. He bent down and handed her Quaffle and her bag. "You're going to have so much fun."

Lily smiled and rubbed at her eye slightly, blinking back the sadness as the excitement began to take over once again. She grabbed a hold of Luna's hand as Ron helped her up onto the train and then the two girls rushed into the nearest empty compartment as the doors closed, heading for the window. They hung out of it, waving to their family. The train started moving… it began to pick up speed… and before they knew it, the platform was gone and they were on their way.

Lily sat back, setting Quaffle down on the seat beside her and slipping her bag up and off of her. She dug into it and pulled out the book she'd decided she wanted to read on the train, Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1). She opened it up and had no sooner finished reading about the levitating charm when Luna spoke.

"So, d'you have the cloak?" Lily looked up from her book and then set it aside, thinking that maybe talking to her cousin might be a little bit more fun than reading about the spells she was going to learn this year. Besides, she could always read the book later on, if their conversation lagged.

"Yes, it's in my trunk. I brought Anna along too." She pulled the rag doll out of her bag and Luna giggled.

"I brought my doll as well." Luna slipped a hand into her knapsack and retrieved her own doll. "Lucinda." Luna's doll wasn't a rag doll, like Lily's, but she was just as pretty with brown hair and big blue eyes, just like Luna's. "My mum got her for me special, because she looks like me. She said the other girls might pick on me for bringing her though."

"If they do, I'll punch them." Lily resolved after a few moments. "Or blast them with whatever spell we learn that day." Luna laughed and put her doll away for the time being.

"D'you wanna go explore the train? See if we can find any of our classmates?"

"Yeah!" Lily and Luna got up from their seats and stowed tugged their bags back on, not wanting to leave them where somebody could steal them. Lily picked up Quaffle, not wanting him to get lost in the crowded corridor, and headed down the hallway with Luna, peeking into compartments to see if they could find any other first years. It was about ten minutes before they came across anything really interesting, and that was only Dominique (Caprice's brother) snogging what looked to be some Hufflepuff girl they'd never met before.

"OOooo… Dominique has a giiiiiiirlfrrrriiiend!" Luna teased, causing their cousin to spin around.

"Luna! Lily! Get out of here!" And the door was slammed shut, but Luna seemed unfazed.

"I'm owling your mother!" She called threateningly before grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her away, giggling. "Betcha she's a Hufflepuff. Caprice said that whenever Dominique has a girlfriend, it's aaaaalways a Hufflepuff."

"What house do you think we'll be in, Luna?" Lily asked as they slowed down and peered into the window of the next compartment. Nothing interesting there, just some older boys playing cards.

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor, like my parents. But if not, then Ravenclaw for sure, just because they're suppose to be super smart, y'know? But I suppose I wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuffs, though they're usually assumed to be air heads… so long as I'm not in Slytherin. That would be the absolute worst."

"I think if I were a Slytherin, I'd probably have to request a re-sort, or maybe quit altogether."

"Hear hear!" Luna agreed, pumping her fist into the air to show her appreciation for Lily's statement. "If I were a Slytherin, I'd shave my head and eat all of my hair!"

"If I were a Slytherin, I'd eat other people's hair. From the shower drain. After it's been there for weeks."

"If I were a Slytherin, I'd light my pants on fire."

"If I were a Slytherin, I'd feed myself to a dragon, in tiny, little, bites." Lily and Luna laughed at each other, collapsing to the floor and rolling around in a fit of giggles so strong, that the compartment door they were having them by opened.

"What's so funny?" The girls looked up to find an indignant looking boy towering over them. His hands were on his hips and his expression looked a little bit annoyed. His face was quite pimply and he had reddish chestnut colored hair that was longer than a normal boy's and just as messy, flowing down and stopping around his pointed chin. Luna looked at Lily who grinned back at her and they both stated together.

"If I were a Slytherin, I'd look like that guy!" This caused them to fall into another attack of uncontrollable laughter. The boy looked quite affronted but stayed put.

"Sorry." Lily sat up, rubbing at her eyes as Quaffle bounced around the boy's legs, causing him to take an awkward step back. "It's only a game. You're not ugly or anything."

"Nah." Luna agreed, picking herself up off of the floor and dragging Lily up along with her. "Anyone Quaffle likes is ok it our book. I'm Luna Weasley. What's your name?"

"I'm Xavier Malfoy. And I'm technically, not supposed to be fraternizing with Weasleys unless absolutely necessary." He stated this slightly scathingly, looking at Luna with contempt. Luna glared back at him, affronted.

"Oh, so you're Draco Malfoy's son. My dad said your dad is a spineless ferret. He was a Death Eater." Luna said, looking back at Lily who looked confused but shook her head to dispel it. Whatever a Death Eater was, it couldn't have been good. Luna was one of the nicest people she knew, and if she didn't like somebody based upon what she'd heard about them, then, it had to be bad. "But he also said that it's not your fault your dad's a git. But apparently just because our parents didn't get along, means we're not supposed to get along either, judging by your attitude."

"That's not right." Lily frowned and bent down to pick up Quaffle from where he was still bouncing around Xavier's feet. "Parents shouldn't pit their kids against each other before they've even met." She held out her hand. "I'm Lily Carpenter. It's a pleasure to meet you." Xavier looked down at her hand warily before he took it in his own and shook it loosely. "Luna's my cousin."

"No… you can't be a Weasley." Xavier frowned, dropping her hand a looking confused."There's a family tree in my family's sitting room with every old wizarding family on it right on down to the newest generations. It's a creation of my mother's… and it has every Weasley on it. You're even on it." He pointed at Luna and then at Lily. "But you're not."

"Obviously she's one of our aunt's brother's or sister's kids." Luna rolled her eyes but Xavier shook his head.

"No, it doesn't work that way. Those would only be the cousins of that particular aunt's children."

"Well…" Luna faltered and took Lily's hand tightly in her own. "It doesn't matter anyway. My family says she's our cousin; therefore, she's our cousin. End of story. Come on Lily." Luna glared daggers at Xavier and the two girls continued their way down the corridor, only this time they made their way backwards toward their compartment. "What a jerk."

"What if I'm really not your cousin?"

"But you are!" Luna exclaimed loudly. "Just because you were born someplace else and neither of us have a clue who your parents are…"

"But… Luna… Gramma won't mention my parents either. What if she doesn't know who they are and just didn't want to tell me?" Lily asked worriedly as she sat down in her seat again. Quaffle bounced up beside her, keeping up his bouncing to see out of the window, his tongue hanging out as the wind blew through the very top of it.

"Well, it doesn't matter, does it? Lily, you're part of the family, whether you like it or not. And even if it turns out that you weren't before, you can always just look at it as us kind of adopting you, y'know?"

"I suppose…" Lily frowned and heaved a great sigh, turning her head away from Luna to peer out the window at the countryside passing them by. "Hey, Luna? Is it just me, or does the train feel like it's speeding up?"

"I dunno, I guess it could be." Luna looked out the window too… the world was starting to blur a bit as they passed it by and she frowned at Lily. "Let's go find Caprice… Make sure it's normal." But before either of them could get out of their seats, the train lurched, sending them clattering to the floor. There were screams coming from the compartments and corridor. Lily and Luna pushed themselves up off of the floor and wobbled out into the corridor.

"Get back in your compartments! Sit down, everyone!" A prefect shouted as he walked down the corridor. Lily grabbed Luna and tugged her back into the seats. The sky outside had turned back… something flew by the window. Lily could see the tracks turning up ahead, and a bridge that was heading out over a wide canyon. The train lurched again and there was a flash of blue light. She watched as the bridge crumbled and apparently, judging by the screams, she wasn't the only one who saw it.

"Stop the traaaain!" She shouted, getting out of her seat and pushing her way to the corridor, using the wall as leverage. "Stop it! The bridge! The bridge is destroyed! Somebody stop the train!" She looked around, hoping to see an emergency lever towards the back or front of the car, but there didn't appear to be one.

"Lily, get back in your compartment!" Caprice commanded, giving her a little shove.

"The bridge is out!" Lily yelled back at her over the screaming. "It's out! We'll die! We have to stop the train, we've got to make it stop!" Caprice's face turned white and she dashed into the compartment to look out the window. One look at the bridge and she was back out of the compartment and running up the corridor to the front of the train, to the engine. Lily and Luna chased after her.

What they saw when they reached the engine was horrifying. The engineer's body was lying flat on the ground, dead. And the fire burning in the train's oven was so hot it made the entire inside of the engine feel like a furnace. Caprice had reached to grab at a lever that could be the break, but shouted, pulling her hand back as the red hot metal burned her hand. "Bloody hell!" She pointed her and out the window. "Reparo!" The bridge didn't do anything and she swore again, looking paler by the minute. "Oh Merlin… oh Merlin…"

"What if we levitate the train over the gap?" Lily asked, remembering the spell she had read about in her book earlier. "And then put it down when we get back to where we're supposed to be and then somehow turn the heat down so we can slow the train down?"

"Yes! Brilliant, Lily!" Caprice led them from the engine. She placed her wand to her neck and stated, "Sonorus!" Her voice was instantly magnified so that it echoed around them. "Quiet! Everyone! This is your Head Girl speaking! The bridge is out and we don't have time to slow the train down before we get to it." The screaming around them intensified. "QUIET! We have a plan! Everyone needs to use the levitating charm! I know you know it! It's first year basics! Wingardium Leviosa! Point your wands at the train. Come on! NOW!"

Lily and Luna bolted into a compartment and pulled out their wands, mimicking the movements of an older boy who was also in the compartment. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The train began to float, it lifted off of the tracks and kept floating upwards. Lily watched as the broken bridge flew under them, the train propelled by its own speed and the spell. And then, the danger was over. The track beneath them was whole again. Lily looked forward and could see lights shining in the distance. Was that Hogwarts? Caprice's voice echoed around them again.

"Awesome! Alright, now, in order to get back down safely, we need Cushioning Charms! Everyone capable of doing one, get to it! Aim for the wheels! And on the count of three, everyone needs to drop their levitating charms…." Caprice waited a few moments, allowing them to cushion the best they could before she started counting. "One… two…. Three!"

The train began to fall at an astonishing speed. The students screamed, most of them hitting the floor and covering their heads out of pure fear. Lily watched as the train suddenly jolted, it's wheels bouncing slightly as it hit the tracks, jostling its inhabitants, but otherwise, intact. There was silence except for the chugging of the train, and then a great smattering of applause and cheering at the recognition that they had done it.

Caprice and some other older students ran up to the engine and blasted water out of their wands into the fire. The engine began to cool and one of the girls (who knew a little something about trains) helping inside of it, tugged at the lever that slowed it down. Relief that it had all gone successfully could be felt all along the train, which was now chugging along as it was supposed to. As they approached Hogsmeade station, the train got slower and slower, until it came to a full and complete halt right where it was meant to. Students clambered to gather their loose pets and get them in cages and change into their robes if they hadn't already.

Lily and Luna rushed back to their compartment to tug their robes and cloaks on over the clothes they were wearing, leaving the rest of their uniforms in their bags. Lily tugged her back on over her shoulder, pocketed her wand, and picked up Quaffle who was still huddling under a seat as though the world was about to end. She gave him a particularly tight snuggle and then she and Luna made their way to join the throng of students exiting the train.

"I can't believe that happened." Luna was saying, still breathless.

"I know!" Lily nodded in agreement. Everyone around them was discussing the matter of the tracks going out and their own account of what they had done. As scary and truly danger filled as it had been, now that it had passed, there was an air of excitement and thrill at having been through it. "I thought we were gonna die!"

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack!" Luna added, clutching at her chest. "It was pounding so hard."

"Mine too!" Lily took her cousin's hand and the two of them climbed off of the train and onto the platform of Hogsmeade Station.

* * *

Yeah, so I'm kind of in love with Lily right now. Lemme know what you thought! Was the action ok? Or was it too far-fetched? Or just far-fetched enough to work for HP world?

With love as always,

S.Q.O.


	7. Sorting

Disclaimer: All characters and settings you recognize belong to JKR.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Seven: Sorting_

"Firs' years! All of yeh gather round! Firs' years!" A great booming voice sounded out above the ruckus of the students as most of them headed in the opposite direction from the great man calling. Lily gripped onto Luna's hand tighter as she got a sight of the man. He was huge! At least ten feet tall and his hands had to be the size of trash can lids. Her jaw dropped in absolute wonder. A great black dog stood beside the man's side, barking and trying to lick the first years that had begun to gather. "C'mon you lot."

"Hey Hagrid!" Luna called excitedly, jumping up and down and waving with her free hand. The man beamed, waving back at her.

"'lo Luna! How're your folks?"

"They're great! They send their love." Luna called back, forcing her way through the crowd around them and dragging Lily with her. Lily anxiously kept up with her, not wanting to be left to herself in the crowd, but she wasn't so sure about getting closer to this giant man. Luna seemed to know him though… well enough to now be hugging him.

"nd who's this 'ere?" Hagrid asked curiously, patting Luna's head affectionately. "nd you've got a puffskein! Wonderful creatures!"

"My cousin, Lily." Luna laughed and let go of him, looking upwards. "Hagrid, you're going to take us in the boats, aren't you?" She looked quite excited about this, but Lily suddenly felt even more nervous than she had before they'd gotten on the train. Boats?

"O'course! Now then, d'we have everyone? Alright… let's get on then. Follow me." Hagrid led them away from the small train station and down a woodsy path that had the first years clinging closer together than they already had been, nobody wanting to be on the outside layer of their little group. Everyone seemed to relax though, when they came around a bend and found themselves at the shore of a gigantic lake… and there was Hogwarts! The great castle was silhouetted against the dark night sky, its lights shining brightly, welcomingly. The first years gasped and then there was a lot of pointing and yelling in excitement. "C'mon now. Four ta' a boat."

Lily looked warily at the small boat before her and then at Luna before whispering. "I pretty sure I don't know how to swim." Luna gave her a little push.

"Then don't fall out. And if you do, Hagrid'll save you." Luna climbed into the boat and Lily handed her Quaffle so as not to drop him as she got in. She grabbed the side of the boat and it teetered slightly as she stepped into it awkwardly, automatically sitting down beside Luna. They were shortly joined by another pair of girls who eyed them cautiously, as though afraid of getting something. Upon seeing this, Luna stuck her tongue out at them. The boats pushed off from the shore as Hagrid waved a giant pink umbrella in the air. Lily gripped the sides tightly, really not wanting to fall in.

The little boats drifted slowly across the lake, sending ripples though the water behind them. The castle loomed over them, getting larger and larger until they disappeared beneath it and hit a rocky shore. Lily quickly clambered out of the boat and took Quaffle from Luna. The two girls gripped hands again, joining their fellows as Hagrid led them upstairs. They came out into a large corridor and a stern woman greeted them, her arms wide. "Welcome to Hogwarts, I am Professor McGonagall. If you would please follow me. Thank you Hagrid, you may go take you seat."

Hagrid left them, heading down the corridor. McGonagall looked over the first years and then ushered them into a nearby chamber. "You are to wait here until I retrieve you for your Sorting." The teacher closed the door and the first years looked around at each other. Some were whispering anxiously about what the Sorting would be. Would they have to perform magic to stay in the school? Who would go into what house?

"Betcha that Malfoy kid's in Slytherin." Luna whispered to Lily who nodded in agreement. She kept one arm around Quaffle, not wanting to lose him and her other hand in Luna's. She looked around at their fellow first years. These were the boys and girls she would be sharing classes, and possibly a dorm room with, for the next seven years. In here were some of her future friends, and there would be bullies as well.

"Freak." Somebody close to her spat in her ear, and Lily spun around to find herself face to face with one of the girls who had given her and Luna a nasty look.

"What?" She asked in confusion, not quite sure why this girl was calling her names.

"Fuh-reeeeeak." The girl enunciated, glowering at Lily. "Bloody creepy eyed freak!"

Lily jumped in shock as the girl spat at her again and Luna spun around to see what was going on. She pulled out her wand, pointing it at the girl's face. "Don't you dare call her a freak!"

"She's got creepy freak eyes!" The girl yelled in defense. Most of the room was looking at them now.

"I do not!" Lily shouted back. This girl was going to be trouble, she could tell. How rude of her… Lily frowned… She did have rather odd colored eyes, but that wasn't her fault, and it didn't make her a freak, did it? Instead of showing her discomfort though, she stood tall, glaring up at the girl. "I am not a freak."

"You are! You freaky eyed freak!" The girl shouted again. Luna pushed her wand into Lily's hand and began pulling up the sleeves of her robes, looking murderous.

"Alright, that's it…"

"What is going on in here?" McGonagall was back, her eyes wide as she watched the little group of girl's, Luna in the center of it with her hand raised in a fist, obviously getting ready to hit the other girl. "Miss Weasley, put your fists away. We do not fight at Hogwarts, not matter what your cousins might have told you."

"Yes ma'am." Luna sighed, pulling her sleeves back down and taking her wand from Lily. She pocketed it and stuck her tongue out at the mean girl. Lily laughed, though she did wonder what would have happened if the teacher hadn't stepped in.

"Come along now. We're ready for you." McGonagall waved her hand and led the first years out of another door in the chamber and into a great grand Entrance Hall. They followed her across it and into another, larger, even grander room. There were four extremely long tables here, going vertically across the room. Upon a raised platform was another table, were the teachers sat. Lily saw Hagrid down on the end and smiled. There were a lot of teachers.

Looking up at the ceiling, Lily nearly fell over in shock. "Woah… Luna, look!" She pointed upwards and heard laughter from some of the older students as Luna's awed gasp.

"My mum told me about that. She said it's charmed to look like the sky outside. But I always just imagined something painted, but it's definitely not painted." Luna laughed.

The first years formed themselves into a line once they reached the front of the room, their backs to the rest of the school, facing the teachers. On the platform, in front of the staff table, was an old rickety looking three-legged stool. Upon the stool sat one of the ugliest hats Lily had ever seen. It was old and brown, pointed with a large brim and patched up so much it was impossible to tell what the original fabric was supposed to have looked like. And suddenly, the hat was moving. Its lower seam split and Lily jumped as a booming voice sounded out of it.

Welcome to Hogwarts, one and all

Welcome to Hogwarts, short and tall

Whether your fingers be stubby

Or your hair be long

I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I will tell you where you belong

Is it in daring Gryffindor?

Where courage and chivalry

Make you into the wizards and witches

That you desire to be

Or is it wise Ravenclaw?

Where brains and wit

And the ability to think quickly

Are prized about the rest?

Or maybe you're a Hufflepuff?

Kindness and loyalty shining true

Perhaps this is the house

That is for you

And lastly, you could belong to Slytherin

Ambitious and cunning nerves

These students feel like

They know what they deserve

So go a head

Slip me on

And I will tell you

Where you belong

McGonagall stepped forward, unrolling a long sheet of parchment. "When you name is called, come up front and have a seat upon the stool." She cleared her throat.

"Alworthy, James!" A boy with sleek looking brown hair stepped out of the group of first years and up onto the platform. McGonagall lifted the hat off the stool and Alworthy, James sat down upon the stool. McGonagall set the Sorting Hat down upon his head… and a few moments later, it shouted, loud and proud.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The table to the direct left of the first years burst out clapping and cheering. Alworthy, James slipped off of the stool, smiling. He made a beeline for the Hufflepuff table and took a seat there, getting his back patting and having his hand shook.

McGonagall quickly made it through the A's and B's and when she got to the C's, Lily started to feel anxious. This was it. She was going to be next any moment now… and then she would have to go sit in front of the entire school and be told what her best qualities were.

"Carpenter, Lily!" Gulping and gripping tightly to her puffskein who was cheerfully scanning the room, his tongue just dying to get up all of these noses, Lily stepped up onto the platform. She looked over her shoulder at Luna who gave her a double thumbs up. She nodded and sat down upon the stool. Every eye in the room was on her as the hat was placed upon her head. It fell down over her eyes and she heard a little voice in her ears, whispering to her.

"Ah, I have met your family many times before. And yet, you do not hold their surname, quite strange you are. And unique. There is bravery inside of you, and yet, your mind is even more powerful than your courage. So, where to stick you? In Gryffindor, like your ancestors? Or perhaps, it is time for one of Gryffindor's descendants to be placed into a new house… Yes, I do think, that you would be best suited for…. RAVENCLAW!"

A great cheering came from the table in the center of the room next to the Hufflepuff table. It was the first time the hat had decided upon Ravenclaw for this particular batch of first years. Lily felt the hat lifted from her head and she took a deep breath of relief, rising from the stool. She went to step down off of the platform, and her shoe caught on the edge of it, sending her falling face first off of it. She yelped as her knees hit the stone floor and Quaffle bounced out of her arms to the laughter of the room.

Luna rushed forward to help her cousin up from the floor and glare at those laughing. "You ok, Lily?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded, her face bright red. She allowed her long hair to fall forward, shrouding her face in pure embarrassment at the laughter. She grabbed up Quaffle from where he was sticking his tongue out at a runny nosed boy who seemed a bit petrified of the sweet little creature. Lily made her way over to the Ravenclaw table and took her seat there.

"You're alright?" One of the older girls there asked and Lily nodded shyly. "I like your puffskein, what's his name?"

"Quaffle."

"Ah! Like the ball! That's excellent. I'm captain of the Ravenclaw team!" The girl indicated the badge upon her chest. "Name's Jillian Finnigan. So you like Quidditch then?"

"Oh yes!" Lily beamed brightly. "I love Quidditch. I like Chasers the best, but my Aunt Ginny is the Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies. They're my favorite team."

"No way… Ginny Weasley?" Jillian looked impressed.

"Yeah."

"That's awesome! Me Uncle Dean, well, he's not really me uncle, he's me godfather and me dad's best mate, claims he dated Ginny Weasley for a while way back when they were still in school."

"I don't think so… she was in love with someone named Harry." Lily shook her head, correcting Jillian automatically. If there was one thing she had learned about Ginny, it was that her true love had been that Harry fellow.

"Aye! Me dad knew Harry Potter and Ginny. He said they were quite close. I wouldn't have pegged you for a Weasley though…" Jillian frowned, eyeing Lily curiously. "Normally, a Weasley has red, strawberry blonde, or auburn hair, plenty of freckles, and either blue or brown eyes. You've not got any red in your hair, and there's not a single freckle on you."

Lily laughed and hugged Quaffle tighter, feeling a little bit insecure about where she fell in her family again. "Well, I am."

"So strange. Oh here we go. Another Malfoy, he'll be in Slytherin, you watch." Jillian nodded up to the platform where Xavier was climbing onto the stool. "His brothers are both already in Slytherin." Lily looked over as Jillian indicated a pair of slicked back blonde haired, pointed chin faced older boys. Except for the chin, Lily thought Xavier looked nothing like them.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"No way!" Jillian clapped with the rest of their fellow and Lily joined in. "That's a first if I've ever seen one. There's never been a single Malfoy that wasn't in Slytherin. And they can date their family back almost as far as the founders themselves, or so they claim."

"I want a re-sort!" Xavier seethed, grabbing for the hat again but McGonagall held it out of his reach.

"You get what you get. Now go sit at your table." Xavier glared up at her, mumbling something or other and headed for the Ravenclaw table. He sat at the very end, keeping as far away from the rest of the house as possible, his head down in his arms.

The Sorting continued, each first year getting sent to a table. The amount of first years dwindled greatly, until the only two left were Luna and the girl who had been giving Lily trouble earlier.

"Weasley, Luna." McGonagall called and Luna bounced up onto the platform excitedly. She took a seat on the stool and Lily watched as her face disappeared beneath the hat. The hat seemed to take quite some time in deciding, and looking around, Lily could see every single one of her cousins at the Gryffindor table craning their necks and looking a bit concerned. And then finally, after what had to be five whole minutes of deliberating…

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat was lifted from Luna's head and she seemed to be slightly shocked.

"That's a first too!" Jillian called to Lily over the ruckus of clapping and the wondering shouts of the rest of the room. "Weasleys have been in Gryffindor as long as Malfoys have been in Slytherin!"

"Lily! We got the same house!" Luna stated gleefully as she slipped onto the bench beside Lily and hugged her tight. "It's incredible, I thought for sure I was gonna be a Gryffindor like everyone else. But I guess my mum's brains over shadowed everything else." Lily laughed and held onto her cousin and best friend, laughing. At least she would have a friendly face to keep her company if neither of them were in Gryffindor.

"Zabini, Bellatrix!" McGonagall called the last girl onto the stool, the same mean girl who had called Lily a freak earlier. The hat had been on Zabini's head for about two seconds before it shouted.

"Slytherin!" The table next to the Hufflepuff's didn't erupt in cheers. Instead, they golf-clapped, welcoming into their house with poise.

"Alright. Now that everyone is Sorted…" McGonagall waved her wand and the stool with the hat upon it floated off to sit out of the way in one corner of the room. "I would like to go over some simple school rules before we eat. Firstly, for those of you who may not remember, the Forbidden Forest is called such, because it is forbidden." She eyed Harry and Marcus Weasley who high fived each other. "Curfew for first, second, and third years, is nine o'clock. Fourth and fifth years, ten o'clock. Sixth years, eleven o'clock. All seventh years must be back to their houses by midnight. A list of banned items is available to look at on Filch's office door, however, it has over a thousand items on it, is not in alphabetical order, and most of the items are no longer produced. Most Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products are banned. If you have any questions about something on the list, you may ask any member of the staff. Magic is not to be used in the corridors and it is preferable that you do not go outside after dark unless otherwise stated beforehand. I believe that is all for now… Dig in!"

Lily jumped as the table in front of her was suddenly filled with the most appetizing, mouth watering food she had ever seen. She immediately reached to scoop some mashed potatoes onto her plate, her eyes wide with wonder.

"This totally beat my Mum's cooking." Luna moaned with appreciation, taking a chicken leg and biting into it ravenously. "She's great at magic… but she's not much of a cook. That's why we usually go to the Burrow for dinner."

Lily laughed and fed a piece of chicken to Quaffle, trying to keep him from bouncing onto the table and helping himself to whatever he pleased. She didn't think the other Ravenclaws would really appreciate having a puffskein's tongue in their food before they'd even had a chance to eat much of it. The room was full of laughter and the clatter of cutlery as every at their fill… and then the table cleared itself and the desserts appeared.

"Here Lily, this is a treacle tart." Luna offered her a small round tart filled with golden colored sticky stuff. Lily took it, remembering how much she had liked the cake Mrs. Weasley had made yesterday with treacle. She bit into the tart and smiled.

"This is definitely my new favorite flavor." Lily beamed and downed the rest of the tart. Luna looked around and dug into her pocket. She pulled out a plastic baggy and swiped a few of the tarts, putting them into the baggy and handing it to Lily.

"My dad says it's always good to have something to snack on later in case you sleep late and miss breakfast." Luna giggled and tugged out another baggy, filling it with some other flavored tarts. "Besides, midnight snacks are good."

"Yes." Lily agreed, pocketing the baggy happily. She didn't know if the school would serve treacle tarts two nights in a row, so having some of them stowed away would be nice. She reached out and took another, only this one made it into her mouth. They ate happily in silence for a few minutes, content to watch their fellow students with curious eyes.

"I'd feel kind of bad for him if he wasn't such a git earlier." Luna said, indicating Xavier who was still sitting with his head down on the table. His plate was bare, as though he hadn't bothered eating. Lily frowned, watching him. He had been a jerk, but she did feel a bit bad for him. After hearing the way he spoke earlier, she figured his family might not be so pleased when they found out he was in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin.

"Sometimes you can't help who your family is." Lily said slowly, pondering it. "We're lucky we've got an accepting one. They won't care that we're in Ravenclaw, will they?"

"Nah. They'll be proud."

"But I bet his family won't." Lily nodded at Xavier.

"No… The Malfoys are kind of… well, the way my dad put it, they're very into the whole 'pure-blood' deal. Or at least his dad is. I don't really know much about his mum. Rumor has it she's half blood. But I got the impression that any house except Slytherin is worthy of disinheriting." It wasn't long before the plates cleared again, and McGonagall rose to address the now full and sleepy students of Hogwarts.

"It has come to my attention, that you all had quite the train ride this evening. We are looking into reasons behind the bridge being destroyed, but for now, I wish to commend you all on your excellent teamwork in a time of crisis. And I think a round of applause is in order for our Head Girl, who kept calm and came up with a plan to get you all here safely. Miss Weasley."

Caprice stood up and took a bow as they all clapped for her, but Luna frowned, her eyes upon Caprice's smug face. She stood up. "It wasn't her plan."

"What was that, Miss Weasley?" McGonagall asked, raising her eyebrows as Caprice's smile faltered.

"It was Lily's plan. She thought of the Levitating Charm." Luna said boldly, pointing down at Lily whose face went red. She quickly hid it against Quaffle.

"Is that true Caprice?"

"Yes ma'am. She thought of the Levitating Charm. And I thought of the Cushioning Charm. It was a group effort." Caprice said through gritted teeth, glaring at Luna for stealing her limelight.

"Well then, I suppose we should clap for Miss Carpenter as well, who has, indeed, been placed into the correct house for her quick wittedness in a time of trouble. Well done." Lily's face heated up further and she hugged Quaffle tighter as those closest to her gave her pats on the back and words of praise. "Now then, to bed with you all!"

There was a great clattering of benches as the students got up and gathered themselves together.

"First year Ravenclaws, over here! Follow me!" An older boy called, waving his hand from down the table. Lily and Luna looked at each other and then clasped hands as they went to follow the boy. The other first years in their house joined them, traipsing out of the Great Hall after the boy. He led them up the great marble staircase in the Entrance hall. "You'll find that this is the quickest way to the Ravenclaw Common Room." He led them down corridors and up many staircases, going higher and higher until Lily was quite sure they had reached the top floor without going into one of the castle's many towers. And finally, they came to a great spiraling staircase that they had made it to one of said towers. They clambered up these stairs and found themselves face to face with a dark wooden door upon which there was nothing but an eagle shaped knocker. No keyhole, no knob, not even any apparent hinges. The Prefect boy reached up and knocked with the knocker three times.

"If a hippogriff were trust you, what would you have done?" A musical soft voice asked. It sent pleasant tickles down Lily's spin and she almost laughed.

"I would have shown it the greatest of respects, looked it straight in the eye without blinking, and bowed low." The Prefect stated casually. He turned to look at the first years. "In order to get into the common room, you've got an answer a question. It'll get tougher the older you get, and if you get it wrong, you'll have to wait for someone to come along and get it right."

"That is correct." The door chimed and opened. The first years crowded into the common room. To their right was a small alcove with the stone statue of a beautiful woman upon a pedestal.

"This is Rowena Ravenclaw." The Prefect explained. "She was the founder of our house."

It was possibly one of the most open and airy rooms Lily had ever been inside. The walls were hung with blue and large windows covered the entirety of the opposite wall from floor to ceiling. There was tables set around the room for studying, and book cases with glass doors full of old tomes. Fluffy looking bronze colored couches and chairs were interspersed with the table, the comfiest looking of which seemed to be by the large white marble fireplace set into the wall beside another set of stairs. Looking up, she found a domed ceiling covered in stars that seemed to twinkle as though they were real. For a second she thought the room might have the same spell upon it as the Great Hall's ceiling, before noting that the sky was covered in clouds when she looked through the windows. The carpet beneath her feet was dark, midnight blue, and also, covered in twinkling stars.

"So long as you are inside the tower by nine, you are not breaking curfew. You may stay in the common room as long as you like, and when you go to bed is up to you, but, it is suggested you do so in a timely manner so as not to oversleep in the morning. The recommended time for first years is ten or eleven at the latest. Understood?" There was a murmuring of agreement. "The girls' dormitories are up the stairs to your right…" The prefect indicated the staircase by the fireplace. "And the boys' are to the left." He pointed to a staircase Lily had not seen before, next to the bookcases. "Your year will be indicated on the door of your dormitory and you will find your things already there. Good night."

The Prefect boy left them, heading up the boys' stairs. The first year boys followed after him and the girls went in the opposite direction, up the other set of stairs. Lily, Luna, and three other girls followed the spiraling steps past six wooden doors, each of them stating the year on the outside of it, but it wasn't until they reached the very top and the last door, that they found the First Year Girls dorm. Luna pushed the door open and entered it, followed by the others who all oohed and awed.

The dorm was even more fantastic than the common room. It's ceiling was domed as well, but it was made of glass with a shining chandelier hanging down from the center of it. There were five loft beds, each with dark blue curtains to wrap around them for privacy, and a desk with a chair beneath them. Their trunks had been set beside the ladder of each bed, up against the wall. A vanity table and mirror was built into the wall between the doorway, and another door, that a blonde pigtailed girl instantly ran to and threw open.

"It's a bathroom!"

Tittering excitedly, the girls undressed and got into their pajamas, but not before introducing themselves. Apart from Luna, Lily would be sharing the dorm with the blonde haired girl, who's name was Eden Lawnly. A tall brown haired girl with a heart shaped faced called Cammie Kruthers. And finally, a very loud red head named Sarah Macmillian.

Lily tossed Quaffle up into her bed, and then climbed up in after him wearing the white night gown she'd worn at the Burrow and toting Anna, Ginny's old rag doll. She pulled her curtains most of the way shut, leaving just the tiniest of gaps so she could grin at Luna who smiled back from the next bed.

"Good night, Lily."

"Good night, Luna." Lily pulled the curtain the rest of the way closed and snuggled down under her starry, midnight blue covers and rolled over onto her back, staring up at the glassy dome ceiling. The clouds were moving and as Quaffle rolled to snuggle up against her cheek, she though she caught the slightest glimpse of a bright star before she fell asleep.

* * *

Yay! I finished another one and I think I kind of adore it almost as much as chapter three. Anyways, lemme know what you think and I'll keep at it.

Love you always,

S.Q.O.


	8. Xavier

Disclaimer: The normal stuff I put here in every chapter. If you haven't gotten it by now, you're braindead.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Eight: Xavier_

Lily rolled over in her bed, burying her face against her super soft pillow, pulling the covers up to try and block out the sun that was shining down upon her face. She groaned and gave up after a few minutes, even though her body felt like it was floating on air she was so impossibly comfortable. Maybe, just maybe, if she put her pillow over her head she could keep the sun off of her? Surely Gramma would be calling for her to wake up any moment now though… so maybe it was pointless to even try.

Opening her eyes, Lily sat up straight. It took her a few moments to remember that she wasn't at the Burrow anymore… she was at Hogwarts! She grabbed up the still sleeping puffskein from beside her and kissed his face in her excitement. "Quaffle, we're at Hogwarts! Oh….oh!" The furball let out an irritated gargle and yawned, blinking at her and not looking like he was the least bit pleased to have been woken up. Lily kept him in one arm, carefully pulling back the curtains on her bed and maneuvering her way down the ladder. Once she was a bit closer to the floor, she dropped Quaffle, letting him bounce off the carpet. He shook himself and then started rolling around the dorm curiously.

Laughing, Lily slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower before she got dressed in her school robes and uniform. She eyed her tie curiously, and upon getting it tied correctly, she opted for pulling it up off of her neck and around her head, allowing the tie bit to hang down and slap against her cheek beside her green left eye. She laughed looking at herself in the mirror. She rather liked her tie as a hair band.

"Hey, Lily, that's a neat idea." Cammie said brightly, climbing down from her own bed, her brown hair a tousled mess. She skipped over Quaffle and headed into the bathroom herself.

"Thanks." Lily smiled and pulled on her shoes. She then proceeded to climb up the ladder to Luna's bed and pull back her cousin's curtains. Like her father, Luna was not one for mornings, and as soon as Lily prodded her, she gave a groan and tried to whack her with her pillow. "Luna, if you don't get up now, we'll miss breakfast." Luna mumbled something that sounded rather like 'curse you evil sun' and sat up, stretching. Lily hopped down off of the ladder and scurried to pack her school bag with books, quills, ink, and parchment.

"What classes do you think we'll have today?" She asked looking a bit confused as she tried to stuff One Thousand Herbs and Fungi into her bag. "Which books should I take?"

"Dunno. Harry said we get our schedules this morning. So just pack everything and whatever we don't need we can bring back right after lunch." Luna slipped down her ladder and into the bathroom. It had more than one shower and stalls for toilets, just like a locker room would.

Lily crammed the last of her books into her bag and tugged it on, nearly falling over from the weight of it. She steadied herself against one of the legs of her bed and then looked down at Quaffle. "Now, listen. I've got to go to class today, so you're going to have to stay here and behave yourself, alright? And I'll be back at lunch time to feed you." The little puffskein nuzzled against her leg.

Once Luna was dressed and ready to go, the two girls (closely followed by a naughty bouncing puffskein), made their way down the stairs to the common room and then out and down the stairs to the corridor. Unsure of which way there were supposed to go, Lily allowed Luna to pick a direction and they followed it about ten feet before a portrait on the wall told them they were headed the wrong way.

"Well, then, which way are we supposed to go to get to the Great Hall?" Lily asked indignantly. The man in the portrait laughed.

"And you call yourselves Ravenclaws! Turn around and walk until you get to a suit of armor and then take a right. You'll find the stairs from there. Just keep going down them, and eventually, you'll end up in the Great Hall."

"Alright, thank you." Lily sighed, waving as they started back the way they had come, oblivious to the fact that Quaffle was still rolling along after them. Even following the portrait's directions, it took them about ten minutes until they found the first stair case and another ten to get down them all. By the time they managed to find the Great Hall, breakfast was halfway over.

"Here you are! I was beginning to wonder…" A short bearded man squeaked as he handed them each a schedule. "I am Professor Flitwick, you're head of house and Charms teacher. It is absolutely lovely to have you in Ravenclaw house! Welcome."

"Thanks, Professor!" Lily sat down at the Ravenclaw table and grabbed up a couple of piece of toast, handing one to Luna and looking over the schedule. "It says we have Herbology first. Oh!"

A great fluttering of wings sounded from above, and Lily looked up to find hundreds of owls swooping in and over their heads. One landed in front of her and she laughed, recognizing Pig. Luna beamed at the familiar owl and offered him her toast. "Aye, Pig! Brought us some mail then have you?"

The little owl chirruped excitedly, hopping about on one leg as he offered his other to Luna. Luna reached forward and undid the little roll of parchment. Lily leaned over her shoulder to read with her.

Dearest Luna (and Lily as we're sure she's with you),

We are so proud of you! Ravenclaw is lucky to have the both of you and we couldn't be happier. Remember to stay out of trouble and do your homework in a timely manner. Gramma and Granddad send their love as well. Your Aunt Ginny is doing much better and should be able to come home within a few days time. She said to send you her love and that she'll write you when she gets the chance. Nevvy wanted to send you a letter as well, so here's her's.

With love always,

Mum and Dad.

Below the letter was a fold in the parchment and then a great scribbling of crayon signed with a finger paint handprint. Luna laughed and hugged the letter tightly. "I miss them." She said admittedly.

"Good morning, baby sister!" Harry came up behind them, grabbed Luna around the head and promptly gave her a rough noogie before letting go of her and running off laughing.

"Him… not so much." Luna patted at her brown hair as Lily nearly fell off of the bench laughing.

"Malfoy's got a Howler! Malfoy's got a Howler!" The two girls looked up and down their table a little ways, to where another first year, a boy, was poking and prodding at Xavier who had buried his head in his arms again, but was also staring wide eyed at the bright scarlet envelope in what could only be described as absolute horror. It had begun to smoke slightly and he suddenly grabbed hold of it and made a beeline for the door. But he didn't make it in time. He dropped the Howler with a yelp as it burst into flames and floated up into the air in front of him. A woman's voice echoed in the Great Hall, closely followed by a man's.

"RAVENCLAW HOUSE? YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY DISGRACED THE NAME OF MALFOY! HOW DARE YOU ALLOW THEM TO PUT YOU IN ANY HOUSE BUT SLYTHERIN!"

"UNLESS YOU CAN SHAPE UP AND PROVE YOURSELF, DO NOT BOTHER RETURNING HOME. YOU HAVE DISHONORED OUR FAMILY IN THE HIGHEST OF RESPECTS. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF BEING A PURE-BLOOD. YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST CALL YOURSELF A MUGGLE!" The letter's fire burnt out, leaving it to flutter to the ground as nothing more than a pile of ash.

Xavier stood still for a moment, apparently in shock. He turned his head in the direction of Slytherin table, looking beseechingly at his older brothers who did nothing more than glower at him and turn their backs. And then he broke into a run, arm over his head… though nobody could have missed the wracking sob that issued from his body as he did so.

"Lily, where are you going?" Luna looked up as Lily rose from her seat. She grabbed up her bag and schedule. "You can't be seriously thinking about going after him? He's a Malfoy, Lily!"

"He's also a Ravenclaw." Lily stated simply. She swung her bag around her shoulders and pocketed her schedule. "I'll see you in Herbology, tell the Professor I forgot something if I'm late."

"You're mental!" Luna called after her as Lily left the Great Hall, closely followed by a ball of custard colored fluff that went unnoticed by Luna.

Lily marched across the Entrance Hall, catching a glimpse of dark chestnut hair disappearing around one of the corners at the top of the marble staircase. She broke into a run, following after it. The flashes of hair took her down three separate hallways until she found herself in a fairly empty corridor that seemed to have a dead end. She frowned and was about to turn around when she noticed a very distinct lump in a large tapestry along with a black sneaker. She sighed and made her way over to the lump slowly, sitting down in front of it. "Xavier?"

"Go away! I do not wish to speak to anyone."

"Too bad. You don't have to speak, but you should really listen." Lily tilted her head slightly, her tie slapping delicately against her cheek.

"I'll plug my ears."

"I'm still going to talk to you."

"Well, I'm still not going to listen."

"Anyway..." Lily rolled her eyes and leaned forward slightly. "Xavier, your parents are wrong… Ravenclaw is a great house and being in it doesn't make you any less of a wizard. Parents… are supposed to accept their kids for the way they are, not just for what they want them to be. If your parents can't accept something as simple as you being a Ravenclaw, then what use is it trying to please them?"

"They're my parents. I can't just go against their wishes."

"But what about your wishes?"

"They don't matter. I was born to follow the Malfoy way and carry on the name. Anything less is unacceptable."

Lily frowned, pondering over what he had said, and then shook her head. "Your parents can want you to do things. But you're at school now; they can't force you to do anything. You've got to make your own choices. What are you going to do? Grow up doing every single little thing they tell you to?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Are you proud of yourself for getting into Ravenclaw?"

"No."

"Well, you should be! It means you're super smart! Smarter than any old stinking Slytherin." Lily rose to her feet and pulled the tapestry back a bit until it fell away from Xavier. His face was blotchy, his eyes red, but there were no longer any tears flowing from them. She reached out her hand. "You're probably the smartest person in your entire family. If they can't see that, they don't deserve you. Even if they're your family, they're the worthless ones."

Xavier sniffed and rubbed at his nose before forcing a very small, very pained smile. He reached out and took her hand and she helped pull him up off of the floor. As soon as he was standing, he dropped her hand and turned his face away from her, rubbing it against one of his sleeves. He coughed and straightened his back, standing a little taller. "We're going to be late for class."

"Yeah… we should probably hurry." Lily grinned at him and he nodded back at her before they broke into a run just as the bell signaling that they were late rang.

"Ah, here you are!" The Herbology professor was a gangly middle-aged man with, big ears, soft brown hair, and a very kind smile. "Go on and have a seat. I won't deduct you any points since it's your first day, but know that I'd prefer it if you were on time in the future. Ah… and it appears we have a visitor." He bent down and picked up the little puffskein who had been tailing Lily since she'd left the dorm that morning.

"Quaffle!" Lily quickly reached her arms out and her puffskein bounced into them. She hugged him. "I told you to stay in the dorm."

"That's all right." The professor laughed. "So long as he doesn't cause any trouble, nobody will mind." Lily smiled in relief and found her empty seat beside Luna. She was about to tell Xavier to join them when the boy promptly sat in the chair furthest away. She frowned as he purposely looked anywhere but at her.

"Welcome to greenhouse one! I am Professor Longbottom. As you might have already noticed, in Herbology we are going to learn all about plants. You may be asking yourself as to why, but knowing your mandrakes from your onions is a very crucial part of the magical world. We use plants to brew the potions that help heal us. It is also best to know the difference between a daisy and a dlingfur. Very similar in all of their traits, except breathing the perfume of one of them will kill you. Is there anyone here who already knows how to tell daisies and dlingfurs apart?" Nobody raised their hand. "Well then, I suppose you're all just going to have to open your books to page seven and we'll begin."

Herbology turned out to be a bit more interesting than Lily could have predicted. There were so many different plants they'd be learning about this year, she was having trouble keeping them all straight, but Professor Longbottom went slowly for them. He made sure everyone had a chance to write things down when he told them to and asked if anyone had any questions before moving on to the next plant. Altogether, it was a fairly nice hour in greenhouse one.

"Longbottom is an excellent teacher." Lily told Luna as they traipsed their way back up to the castle for Transfiguration. "He really seems to know everything this is to know about plants."

"He does." Luna beamed. "You should see his house… his garden puts the greenhouses to shame."

"You've been to his house?"

"Of course I have! He's my godfather. He was in the same year at Hogwarts as my parents… and he's the one who killed Voldemort, way back during the Battle of Wizards." Luna laughed and tugged one of the tarts she had swiped from the table last night out of her bag. She bit into it as she and Lily followed the rest of the Ravenclaw first years up the stairs until they reached the second floor. "Oh! There's McGonagall. She's the Transfiguration teacher, as well as the Headmistress. Normally she'd of hired a new Transfiguration teacher once she was named Head of the school, but it's rumored she can't find anyone she believes is fit for the job. Asked mum if she would want to interview for it a while back, but mum had to turn her down, what with Nevvy and all."

"Yeah. I don't think she would want to leave Uncle Ron alone with Nevvy for more than a couple hours if she could help it." Lily laughed and looked over her shoulder to make sure Quaffle was still tailing them. He was, bouncing along just as happy as ever.

"Can you imagine? The house would be a total mess! He's great at the whole dad thing, but he's not so good at saying no. At least not to Nevvy." Luna smiled at the thought of her father as they entered the Transfiguration classroom to find they would be sharing it with the Slytherins.

"Ugh." Lily groaned, noticing that the Zabini girl was there. She promptly took a seat as far away from her as possible. Luna sat beside her and deflected a crumpled up piece of paper that was thrown at her head.

"Quiet now, class." McGonagall stated a little loudly, making herself heard over the rambunctious eleven year olds. "Welcome to Transfiguration. Today, we are going to get started by attempting to turn toothpicks into needles. Now, here is the theory…" She raised her wand and the chalk rose from the tray and began scribbling upon the black board. The first years immediately dug into their bags to gather parchment, quills, and ink to copy down the small writing on the board. It was clear already that this class would not be nearly as much fun as Herbology.

"Oh my Merlin." Luna groaned an hour later, gripping her head. "That was worse than maths class at Muggle school."

"I thought it was intriguing." Lily pondered, looking over her notes and at the shiny toothpick in her hand. "I almost managed it too!" She held up the small, silver stick proudly before carefully placing it into the outer pocket of her bag. "I'm going to send it to Gramma. I think she'd be pleased."

"Oh, she'll be thrilled that you got so far on your first day." Luna said, holding up her own perfect needle. "Personally, I don't know how I managed this one. The rest of my toothpicks just sort of flopped about on the desk. I don't know as I'd be able to do it again."

"You will, once your brain comprehends the theory. Those were some outrageously big words."

"Hear hear!" Luna nodded and placed her pin away in a scrap of parchment to keep it from poking through her bag. "I vote we look some of them up later. There has to be a thesaurus in the back of our books."

"Alright." Lily grinned and bent down to grab up Quaffle who had gone from humming contently, to lapping at her nose, his tummy growling. She pinched his tongue and batted it away from her nose. "I'm glad it's lunch time though. That toast just wasn't enough this morning."

"Magic can take the energy out of you." Luna nodded wisely and the two girls hurried down to the Great Hall for lunch, quite pleased that at least half the day of classes were over and they would be able to put away some of their books before attending their double Charms class in an hour. "So, what happened earlier? With Malfoy?"

"Nothing really." Lily frowned and shook her head. She didn't think Xavier would appreciate her telling Luna about his crying, so she kept her mouth shut about that. "He's really not as bad as you think, Luna. He just got stuck with a crap family."

"I dunno, I still think he's a jerk. Remember what he said to us yesterday?" Luna dropped her voice an octave. "I'm not supposed to fraternize with Weasleys."

"I don't think he's ever known any better." Lily frowned as they took their usual seats at the Ravenclaw table. Luna grabbed for a sandwich and bit into it ravenously. Lily took an apple and cut a bit off of it to feed to Quaffle. "Just try to be nice to him, ok?"

"Be nice to a Malfoy? Lily, that's insane. He's a jerk! Why should we be nice to him?"

"Because if we don't, who will?" Lily sighed, looking down the table to where Xavier had taken up his post at the end. His head was down again, but he seemed to have at least started on his sandwich before one of his older brothers had come to pick on him. She wondered why he didn't fight back… Sighing, she set Quaffle down on the bench and rose.

"Oi, where're you going?" Luna got up and followed after her quickly. "You can't be thinking of…"

"Leave him alone." Lily stated firmly, glaring up at the older boy who had taken up a ketchup bottle and was about to dump the contents of it over Xavier's head.

"Get out of here and mind your own business, firstie." The older boy stuck his tongue out at her and unscrewed the cap off of the bottle of ketchup.

Lily didn't know what made her do bit, but she grabbed hold of the bottle and pulled. The older Malfoy boy relented, laughing as she fell backwards with a thump and the ketchup bottle shot a huge glob of red right into her face. She coughed, wincing as she felt the goo in her eyes.

"Lily!" Luna snatched the ketchup bottle from her and aimed it at the Slytherin's head. He caught it and tossed it away onto the table. "You jerk!"

"Oh, save it for your Mudblood loving father." The boy spat at her and reached for a bowl of salad. He dumped it over Luna's head as she ran at him, lost her balance and ended up on the floor next to Lily who was still trying to get the ketchup out of her eyes.

Neither Lily nor Luna could see what happened next, but there was a great slapping sound of skin against skin, a cry of pain, and then someone was shouting. "You don't hurt girls, you prat!"

"What is going on here!" McGonagall's voice sounded outraged as she lifted the bowl of salad off of Luna's head and pointed her wand at Lily. "Tergio." Lily felt the ketchup somehow siphoned off of her face and she looked up to find a red faced Xavier, an angry McGonagall, and the older Malfoy boy clutching at his nose. Blood was spurting down out from between his fingers.

"Xander was taunting me and they tried to get him to stop, Professor…" Xavier looked down at his feet. "And then he hurt them… so I punched him… You don't hurt girls!" He said firmly, as though that made up for his punching his brother.

"Mister Malfoy, get yourself down to the hospital wing. Ten points will be deducted from Slytherin for your poor choice of actions." McGonagall sighed, reaching down a hand to help Luna and then Lily, up from the floor. Xander glared at them as he strutted off to have his nose taken care of. "And I'm going to have to deduct five points each, from Ravenclaw for your rough housing. It is never alright to get physical with one another, no matter what the circumstance. I do, however, commend you on your comradely. Next time, I would prefer it if you let a teacher know and allowed them to take care of it."

"Yes, Professor." Lily bowed her head, feeling horrible… five whole points each… that'd be fifteen total! The other Ravenclaws would be mad at them once they saw they were fifteen points shorter. But then, maybe they wouldn't know who was responsible for losing them? She turned her head, looking around to find that most of the Ravenclaw house was there and had seen what had happened. Or maybe they would.

"Ok, so I take it back. You're not a complete jerk." Luna said, pulling a leaf of lettuce out of her hair and looking at Xavier who looked down at his feet.

"I didn't do it because I like you or anything." He said finally, lifting his eyes from the floor, his face set as unfeeling as possible. "But Xander knows better than to pick on girls." He turned away from them and grabbed his sandwich, taking it with him as he left the Great Hall.

"Yep, still a jerk." Luna shook her head and wandered back down to sit with the sandwich she had left. Lily frowned watching Xavier go and followed after Luna. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she'd seen Xavier smile just a little bit when Luna had told him he wasn't a complete jerk.

* * *

Mwahahahahaha! Yet another chappie and yay, it's not even a short one either! Lemme know what you think and if there's anything you want to see, I love hearing for you.

Much luffs,

S.Q.O.


	9. Brooms

Disclaimer: The same damn thing I've said the last eight chapters.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Nine: Brooms_

September said goodbye to Hogwarts, leaving in its wake the frosted grass, colorful leaves, and chilly spells of rain that seemed like they would never cease of October. It was one of these rainy days that found Lily and Luna sitting by the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room, their hair wet from their late afternoon Thursday Herbology lesson. Quaffle was sound asleep, nuzzled into a cushion on the hearth, soaking in the warmth of the fire. Luna was scribbling the last few bits of her Transfiguration essay on the theory of turning beetles into buttons whilst Lily, having already finished her homework, was perusing a book she had gotten out of the library a few days earlier.

Quidditch Through the Ages was quite an interesting book so far. Lily enjoyed learning everything she could about the earlier accounts of Quidditch back when it had been called Queerditch, the hoops had been made of wood instead of golden metal, and Snitches had actually been little birds called Snidges. She had picked it up because not only did she enjoy Quidditch immensely, but they were going to be having their very first broom riding lesson tomorrow morning with Madame Hooch and the Hufflepuffs. She had watched longingly out of the Charms classroom window as the Gryffindors and Slytherins had had their lesson that morning. Hopefully it wouldn't be canceled on account of the nasty weather.

Luna coughed and Lily looked up to find her nodding at the door. They watched as a mud sodden Xavier Malfoy slipped and stumbled into the room. He had not spoken to them, or anyone else for that matter, since the incident in the Great Hall back on their first day of classes. He'd gotten a second Howler for breaking his brother's nose and it seemed to of just pushed him further away from his peers. As of the past couple of weeks, he would even go as far as to just grab something from the table during meal times and, as rumor had it, take it with him back to the boys' dorm where he would eat while he studied. The two girls watched as he dripped mud all over the starry covered blue carpet and up the boys' staircase between the bookshelves.

"I still think we should try and talk to him again." Lily suggested as Luna sighed and raised her eyebrows at her.

"Haven't you already tried that? Give it up, Lily, it's pointless. He wants less to do with us than I do with him. I just don't understand why you even bother being nice to him when he just keeps shrugging you off." Lily sighed, knowing that Luna was right. She'd made a few good attempts at getting Xavier to talk to her again. But no matter how many times she tried to study with him or sit by him in class, he would switch seats or leave the library or common room. It was quite pointless to keep trying to get him to speak to her.

"I suppose. I just feel bad for him… Everyone deserves to have friends."

"I guess, but he'd be better off with some of his own lot than us."

"But they won't have him."

"Exactly. And it's his own fault for not trying harder, but there's really nothing more we can do for him." Luna picked her quill and bit at her tongue, as she always did when she was concentrating hard on something, and continued to scratch out the remainder of her essay. Lily sighed and picked her book back up.

"There's always something more." Luna ignored her and Lily went back to her book, wishing she could explain her reasoning better to her cousin.

The next morning dawned bright, with the first bits of sunshine the inhabitants of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade village had seen in a week. The overcast of gray clouds that had been hiding the sky from the castle had shifted enough to let through some of that good old deep blue color. Frost crunched under Lily's shoes as she and the rest of the first year Ravenclaws made their way down the slope to the Quidditch Pitch where they were scheduled to have their very first flying lesson. Madame Hooch used to give the lessons on the front lawn, but after the many numerous broken windows from wayward brooms, she had moved her classes down to the pitch, which was built for flying.

Lily tugged her cloak tightly about herself as the wind whipped at her. She had left Quaffle up in the castle with her older cousin and Percy's younger daughter, Molly, on Luna's recommendation. Molly, at fourteen, was a magical creature enthusiast who had taken to the little puffskein automatically, vowing to take care of him until lunch time.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun! I've been looking foreward to learning how to fly since I heard about Quidditch." Cammie was chattering incessantly. A Muggleborn with a knack for Potions, she had become Lily and Luna's comrade in a lot of things, including helping them when their Potions homework gave them a bit of trouble. "I just hope we don't have to go up too high, I wouldn't want to fall or something."

"N-… Professor Longbottom fell off of his broom in his first lesson. Broke his wrist." Luna told them, trying to make the topic even more interesting than it already was.

"Did he really?" Cammie asked excitedly still as they made their way onto the pitch, heading towards the line of broomsticks on the ground.

"Yep. And when Madame Hooch went to bring him to the Hospital Wing, Malfoy's dad…" Luna pointed over towards Xavier who was walking a little bit ahead of them. "Took Longbottom's Remembrall, because he was kind of forgetful. Anyways, Harry Potter chased after him on a broom, his first time on one. Malfoy's dad dropped the Remembrall and Potter caught it inches from the ground, landed without a scratch on him."

"That's impossible!" Lily shook her head in disbelief. "Where did you hear that?"

"My dad and mum were there. They saw it all happen, and if mum says it's true, it has to be. Potter was the youngest seeker in a century after that happened. McGonagall saw him catch it."

"I dunno…"

"Ask Hooch. She'll tell you." Luna persisted as they stopped walking and a woman with bronze eyes met them. "Professor, isn't it true that Harry Potter caught a Remembrall inches from the ground his first time on a broom?"

"Yes, it is." Madame Hooch smiled down at them all and Luna looked smugly at Lily who was quite shocked. It was too incredible to be true, and yet, it was. "Now gather around everyone… come now. We haven't time to waste. Pick a broom and stand beside it on your wand arm side." The class quickly moved to stand beside each broom, some fighting to get the better looking of the rumpled school brooms. "Now then… flying is simple enough, once you get the hang of it. Today we won't be doing anymore than hovering a few feet off of the ground. Once you've gotten your broom bottom…" There was some snickering among the class. "… we'll see about having you work on actually making the broom fly. These are not the toy brooms some of you may have had when you were younger. They are to be treated respectfully and carefully.

"To mount your brooms, first, you must stick out your wand arm and command it, firmly and without any trace of fear "Up!" Go on!" The class stuck out their arms over their brooms.

"Up!" Luna said firmly… her broom shuddered and gave a little bounce before it landed back down on the ground. "Up!"

Lily looked nervously down at her broom, but stuck her arm out over it. She wasn't so sure she would be able to do this… sure, she adored Quidditch, but to actually fly? She gulped. "Up!" Her broom jumped, meeting her hand. She grasped it tightly, watching her fellow first years attempting to get theirs to behave.

"Very good, Carpenter! That's the way to do it." Madame Hooch nodded her approval. "Come now class, you can do it! That's it… there we go!" The remainder of the class managed to get their brooms into their hands, although Lily could have sworn she saw a few of them bend down and just pick them up when Madame Hooch wasn't paying attention. "Good! Now, mount your brooms, putting your wand hand on the handle behind your non-wand hand… excellent! Now, you're going to bend your knees and push off, just a little bit, hover, and come back down. On my whistle, one… two… three!"

The whistle sounded and Lily pushed off the ground and felt herself rise. Her feet dangled and she gripped her broom loosely, not wanting it to think she wanted to go any further. Cammie, beside her, was gripping her broom a bit too tightly, her eyes squeezed shut. And her broom was floating higher…

"Kruthers! Loosen your grip… Kruthers!" Madame Hooch broke into a run as Cammie yelped and opened her eyes, floating higher and out of reach. "Loosen your…" But Cammie couldn't stop. She leaned foreward, attempting to get the broom to go down in any way she could, but instead, it shot through the air at a breakneck pace that nobody could have guessed a school broom to be capable of. The entire class began chasing after her on foot. Without really thinking about it, Lily mounted the broom still in her hand mid-run, and took off.

It was a few moments before she even realized what she was doing, that she was in the air on a broomstick without ever having really done this before… and yet… she felt free. She didn't take more than a moment to relish the feeling of being in the air before she rocketed herself foreward, chasing Cammie who was whirling around in out of control circle now, screaming.

"Cammie! Loosen your grip!" Lily yelled at her as she got closer, the class down on the ground screaming encouragement as Madame Hooch blew her whistle trying to get them to quiet down so she could give Cammie instructions on how to get back down. She had had many a wayward broom before, but felt it best to allow the students to figure their way back to the ground… it was the best way to learn.

Lily caught up to Cammie and reached out a hand to steady her, but as Cammie grabbed hold of her, she was sent spiraling as well. Cammie held tight to Lily, screaming as the other girl tried to get her to let go so she could straighten her broom out. Before either of them knew what was happening, they slammed hard into the beech tree that sat down by the lake.

Pain shot through Lily's arm as she groaned and felt her broom break beneath her. She reached out to grab hold of a tree branch but her arm screamed in protest. She fell, and Cammie did too, crashing through the branches of the tree. They both landed hard upon a thicker one and it broke under the force, careening downwards with them until they crashed into something hard.

The twenty year old stone of the tomb, worn down by weather, broke. Both girls tumbled down off of the stone and onto the ground, moaning in agony, the branch that had fallen with them standing up straight in the center of the tomb, held firm by the shattered cover.

Voices sounded from around them and suddenly, Luna was there, trying to drag Lily to her feet, asking her if she was alright. Lily shook her head, clutching her arm tightly to her chest. Gasping came from around her and she turned to look at the tomb… the one she and Cammie had accidentally broken. Upon the side of the white marble stone box were etched the words:

_Here lies Harry James Potter._

_July 31, 1980 – May 2, 1998_

_The-Boy-Who-Lived_

_Beloved friend, brother, and son_

_A sacrifice that shall never be forgotten._

"You broke Harry Potter's tomb…" Luna said, wide eyed after a long silence. Cammie gave a whimper as Eden helped her up off the ground, shaken, but looking only a little bit bruised.

"Out of the way everyone! Out of the way!" Madame Hooch pushed them aside. "Carpenter! Kruthers! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Cammie managed to get out before emitting a little sob. "I'm s-sorry, Professor… I... I lost control of the broom."

"Don't worry about that now. Things can be repaired, the only importance is that you didn't get hurt as badly as you could have. I thought you'd at least be unconscious." Madame Hooch reached out a hand and placed it on Cammie's shoulder reassuringly. "What about you, Carpenter?" She asked, looking at Lily.

"I think I broke my arm…" Lily managed to get out, her eyes watering as she gripped her right arm to her chest tightly. Madame Hooch gave a sigh of relief.

"No lasting trauma, then. Madame Promfrey will have you fixed up in a thrice, broken bones are easily repaired. A little Skelo-Gro and you'll be back to normal." Madame Hooch turned her attention to the tomb, eyeing it carefully, trying to make sure nothing of the body inside of it was showing. "I suggest you all head back up to the castle while I clean up this mess. Wingardium Leviosa!" The branch rose out of the tomb, sending the shattered stone deeper into the inside of the tomb. Madame Hooch's expression changed to confusion and she got closer to the tomb. None of the first years moved. "Get Professor McGonagall…" She said shakily, reaching a hand into the stone and feeling about. "There's no body in here."

* * *

Dundundun! Sorry it's quite a bit shorter than the other chapters, but I thought it'd be fun to leave you lot at a cliffhanger! MWAHAH! Lemme know what you think might happen next!

Love always,

S.Q.O.


	10. Discoveries

Disclai... you know the deal.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Ten: Discoveries_

"How could Harry's body be missing? We watched him placed in the tomb!" Hermione groaned as she paced back and forth in the Headmistress's office. McGongall had Flooed them as soon as she had investigated the tomb for herself. It was nothing but an empty stone box. "Sure, after twenty years he would have been... well… a bit... di-di-disintegrated. But the cloak and his wand wouldn't have!"

"The only explanation we've been able to come up with is that someone would have to of stolen him. That is also fairly impossible, as we put the protective charms back upon the castle as soon as we were sure that there were no longer Death Eaters on the grounds. " McGongall sighed, leaning back in her chair, watching her previous star pupil from years ago wear a hole in the floor of her office. Ron sat silently in his chair, looking down at his feet in thought. "If anyone had tried to breach the barriers from outside, the alarm would have gone off and not have stopped until I turned it off." She pointed to one of Dumbledore's old spindly silver instruments set in various places about the room.

"Then it had to be somebody from the inside!" Ron's head lifted and he fiercely pounded his fist into his hand, his face red with outrage that someone would have had the audacity to swipe the body of his dead best mate.

"It's possible we missed a Death Eater. I cannot imagine one of our own would have taken Potter, not after having fought so valiantly for him in the first place. But a great deal of Death Eaters were accounted for in Azkaban May 3rd, and those who did not make it to the prison, we found to be dead." McGonagall turned her body to look up at the wall where the portrait of Dumbledore sat. "What do you think might have happened? You are, after all, the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has even known."

The old wizened wizard in the portrait gave his customary Dumbledore smile, his eyes twinkling down upon them all. Ron and Hermione turned their attention to him as well. "Well then… if no one has breached the boundaries and you are quite certain that the Death Eaters were all accounted for, then I believe the only solution left is that Harry may not have been as dead as we thought he was."

"Are you saying…" Hermione started as she and the others gaped at portrait Dumbledore as though he had grown five heads and blown fire out of his backside (which, for Dumbledore would not have been entirely impossible). "That Harry could be a-alive?" She sputtered and collapsed into a chair, her brain tired out.

"I daresay, he could be. Did anyone actually inspect his body to be absolutely certain he was dead before he was buried?"

"I… no… no we didn't." Hermione let her head fall into her hands. "But there's no way he could have still been alive, Professor! No way at all!"

"Actually, it is, entirely possible, Miss Granger. You see, and I trust you not to repeat this to anyone outside of the room, there was something particularly special about Harry Potter."

"Of course he was special. He was bloody Harry Potter!" Ron shouted, having risen from his chair to kick at it. It tumbled to the floor with an angry clatter.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, please, allow me a moment to speak." Hermione reached out a hand and placed it upon Ron's arm. He picked his chair back up and sat down in it, rather harshly, his arms crossed, glowering up at the portrait of Dumbledore. "As I was saying...

"A different kind of magic, that we will probably never be able to understand, occurred on that night many years ago. But it began in 1995 in the cemetery of Little Hangleton, when Harry was transported there by the Triwizard Cup. When Voldemort regained his body, he used Harry's blood to do so, creating a connection that neither you, nor I, could ever begin to fathom. So when Voldemort killed, or appeared to kill Harry in the forest, a little bit of Lily Potter's protection, a little bit of Harry, remained inside of Voldemort himself. It would have, I think, created a bond between the two of them so strong, that Harry would have been tethered to the living world just as one tethers a boat to a dock. He could possibly have used that bond to come back. There was, also, another connection…"

"Which was?" Hermione prompted, sitting on the edge of her seat when Dumbledore paused for what felt like much too long.

"Do you remember when you came and recounted your adventures to me?" Dumbledore asked, pro longing their curiosity even longer. "And how you told me that at one point, Harry disarmed Draco Malfoy and gained the allegiance of his wand?"

"Yeah." Ron nodded, his face no longer red with anger, but enraptured.

"That night, Harry would have gained the allegiance of Draco Malfoy's other wand as well. The one Draco had earned less than a year previously, when he disarmed me." Dumbledore smiled, waiting for them to figure out what this meant.

"But... but... you had the Elder Wand!" Ron was quicker than Hermione who seemed to have lost her ability to speak for the moment. She got over it after a moment though.

"And Voldemort took the Elder wand from your tomb!" She said in shock, rising from her chair and taking her pacing up again. "Which means, that Voldemort would have used Harry's own wand against him! And wands will never harm their true owner!"

"Exactly. So while Voldemort's killing curse may have knocked Harry unconscious long enough for you to bury him, it wouldn't have actually been able to kill him."

"Merlin's pants!" Ron stood up so fast, his chair knocked backwards.

"Ohmygodohmygod…" Hermione was wringing her hands anxiously, looking quite like she was ready to start banging her head upon the wall. "OhmygodweburiedHarryalive."

"Hermione! Calm down! He had a wand. And the tomb's obviously empty!" Ron reached his arms out to take her hands in his. He turned his face back to Dumbledore's portrait. "But then why hasn't he shown himself? He'd of had a right laugh at us, I expect, given us a word or two about having not checked to make sure he was…"

"You knew Harry as well as I did, Mr. Weasley. Why do you think he would have not tried to contact you?"

"Guilt." Hermione said instantly, her eyes welling up with tears. "He would have felt so terrible… so responsible for everything and everyone we lost. Maybe he thought we'd have been better off thinking him dead."

"That's just the type of thick-headed thing he would do too!" Ron dropped Hermione's hands and stomped his feet around a bit, his face filling up with anger again. "Just like how he thought we'd be better off if left the Burrow right after we'd gotten him there!"

The group remained silent for a few minutes, drinking it all in. McGonagall seemed to be beyond words at that point, her mind reeling with the possibility that Harry Potter could still be alive. Finally, Hermione stopped her pacing and spun around to look at them.

"Lily."

"What about her?" Ron asked, looking up from where he had gone back to staring at his hands, clearing pondering over the news.

"Ginny was right, Ron! She said Harry was alive, she knew it before any of us. She also said she thought Lily was…"

"Harry's." Ron finished for her, his eyes wide. "But… how… when…" He seemed unable to finish his thoughts. "Why would he have left her at the Burrow?"

"You read the note, same as I did." Hermione offered. "He's in some sort of danger… and I'd bet you anything it has to do with that gang Kingsley was talking about. The one who blew up the London underground tunnel. And he wouldn't have asked for help…"

"Because he wouldn't have wanted to put anyone else in danger." Ron nodded, finishing her sentence. He sighed. "And just when Ginny's gotten over claiming he's still alive too… oh this is seriously going to mess with her head."

"With whose head?" The fireplace in the office had ignited green and Ginny herself had stepped out as Ron finished his sentence. She had finally been released from St. Mungos two weeks ago, the Healers claiming she was sane enough to get on with her life again. When she'd gotten out, she had gotten her hair cut for the first time in nineteen years. It now fell just below her shoulders in pretty red layers. "I came as soon as mum told me. Is it… is it true? Harry's body's missing?"

"Gin… sit down." Ron motioned to his sister. When she had done so, he and Hermione recounted everything they had just learned to her. By the time they had finished, she was quite pale in the face, her freckles standing out so much, they might have been popping out of her skin completely.

"Let me get this straight. Harry could be alive?" She sounded quite breathless.

"It's not for certain…" Hermione said gently, not wanting to fully get Ginny's hopes up. Despite how tough the redhead was on the outside, she could be quite delicate on the inside.

"But there's still a good chance." Ginny said, her being brightening. "Harry could be alive. I told you he was! I told you all! But you didn't believe me!" She stood shakily, still pale, but looking more alive than she had in ages. Hermione had almost forgotten what the true Ginny Weasley could be like… she'd gotten so used to the girl being full of stifled fire.

"We're sorry, Ginny."

"It's alright… neither of you were in love with him as I am." Ginny ran her hands through her hair excitedly. "This… this in incredible. Harry's… and… that means… oh I was right. Lily has to be his! She just has to be! I don't even care that he would have had to love somebody else to… Oh… what time is it!" She spun around, her eyes flitting before remembering. She dug into her pocket and pulled out the watch she had received on her seventeenth birthday. It had been her older brother, Fred's, his name etched into the back. The rest of her family had thought it appropriate that she have it, even if her mother had wanted to get her a brand new one all her own. "Noon… so she'll be at lunch now. I've got to…"

"On the contrary, Miss Weasley…" McGongall stated, pushing her spectacles up her nose a bit. "Miss Carpenter was involved in the incident that broke Potter's tomb in the first place. She should be in the Hospital Wing, having her arm mended."

"Oh, yes.. Mum did say… Alright then, thanks Professor!" Ginny bolted from the room, nearly tripping down the spiral staircase she was going so fast. She ran down the old familiar hallway, past students who looked at her curiously.

"Wasn't that the Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies?" But Ginny ignored them, she had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. She burst through the door of the Hospital Wing quite loudly, only slowing her pace so as to stop and look for the head of unruly jet-black hair she hadn't seen in over a month. And there she was, propped up on pillows in one of the many beds, her arm in a sling, Luna by her side…

"Lily…" Ginny whispered, coming to a full and complete stop a few feet from the bed. The two girls looked up from the game of Wizard's chess they were playing.

"Ginny!" Lily beamed brightly, raising her good arm in greeting. Luna laughed brightly, moving the board off of the chair she had set it upon, making space for her aunt to sit.

"Hi, Aunt Ginny."

"Hello Luna!" Ginny gave her hair a ruffle as she passed her by and sat on the foot of the bed instead of the chair. "Oh Lily…" She reached a hand out and brushed a black lock of hair out of the little girl's face before leaning forward and embracing her tightly.

"Ginny…" Lily winced, hugging her back with her good arm. "That hurts…"

"Oh! I'm sorry…" Ginny let go of her, eyeing the sling and carefully angled herself to hug Lily without squishing her broken arm. "So, Gramma told me you had a little run in with a tree during flying lessons?"

"Yeah." Lily frowned, looking down at her arm. "Madame Promfrey said I'm going to have to wait it out like a Muggle until Professor Slughorn can a make different potion because I had an allergic reaction to the Skele-Gro. My face puffed all up and she had to give me a potion to make the Skele-Gro inactive. She said the other potion takes about two weeks to make, because it needs half a moon's cycle for one of the ingredients, but by that time, my arm'll be half healed."

"I'm sorry, love." Ginny shimmied her way up the bed. "Budge up." Lily scooted over and Ginny put an arm around her, pulling her close to her side and running a hand through her dark hair.

"We broke Harry Potter's tomb… Cammie and me." Lily frowned, looking worried about this particular bit of the incident. "I… I don't want to get suspended."

"Who said you'd get suspended."

"One of the Slytherin boys who heard what happened." Luna provided for her cousin. "He said they'd be lucky if they were only suspended."

"Oh, Lily, you should know better than to listen to a Slytherin." Ginny hugged her tighter, feeling overprotective. She couldn't believe the little girl she held in her arms could very well be Harry's daughter. And yet, she felt in her heart of hearts, that it had to be true. It was if she was holding on to a little piece of Harry. Not that she didn't love Lily aside from her possibly being Harry's, she did. But the idea of her being Harry's just made it all the more wonderful. "It was an accident. You're not going to get into any trouble over it."

"You should have seen it, Aunt Ginny!" Luna said excitedly, her eyes wide with wonder. "Lily just went up on her broom like she did it every day of her life."

"Is that so?" Ginny laughed, looking at her niece, waiting for her to tell more of the story. If Lily was Harry's, then it was no surprise to her that the girl would be good on a broom. He would have taught her and it was in her genes.

"Yeah! If Cammie hadn't of been out of control completely, she would have gotten her down."

"I'm very proud of you for trying to help your friend, Lily." Ginny smiled and Lily beamed back at her, snuggling closer to the redhead. She actually hadn't spent all that much time with her, but there was just something about Ginny that drew her in. Out of all of the Weasleys (excluding Luna and Gramma of course), Ginny was her favorite.

"Mum! Dad!" Luna jumped out of her chair and ran at her parents. Ron scooped her up as if he hadn't seen her in years and hugged her close. He loved Nevvy, but he had missed his other little girl. "What're you doing here?"

"We came to check up on Lily." Hermione smiled, giving her daughter a kiss and moving to the bed where her sister-in-law was still cuddled up in pure bliss next to Lily. "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better, but at least it wasn't my neck." Lily smiled up at her aunt and Hermione bent down to give her a small hug around Ginny who seemed bent not to let to girl go.

"We're all very glad it wasn't your neck."

"Alright, alright." Madame Promfrey came out of her office carrying a glass cup of what could only be a Sleeping Draft. "Miss Carpenter needs her rest if she's going to be out of here in time for class tomorrow. Surely you understand."

"Yes, of course." Ron nodded, setting Luna down. He had learned long ago that it was better not to mess with Madame Promfrey when it came to her patients. "Come along Luna."

"Wait!" Lily called as he, Hermione, and Luna turned to leave the room. "Quaffle… Molly still has him, but if I don't show up after a while, he's going to be worried sick."

"I'll bring him by later… er… if that's ok, ma'am?" Luna looked up pleadingly at Madame Promfrey who nodded.

"After dinner, but only for a few minutes. I don't want her up all night." Luna nodded in agreement and left with her parents.

"Miss Weasley…"

"I'm not going anywhere. You can give her the draft, I'll just keep her company while she sleeps." Ginny looked up at Madame Promfrey, fire in her eyes, daring her to try and kick her out. Madame Promfrey sighed.

"Alright then. But if you cause so much as a single little disturbance, it's out you go, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Here you are, Carpenter." Madame Promfrey handed Lily the glass of Sleeping Draft. Lily eyed it warily before looking up at Ginny who nodded. She downed the potion and immediately felt her eyelids starting to get heavier and heavier. She handed the cup back to Madame Promfrey, yawned, and snuggled herself down against Ginny's side. Ginny wrapped both arms around her tightly as Lily fell into a dreamless, restful sleep.

"She's a lot more agreeable than her father ever was." Madame Promfrey said, looking down at the cup. "Half the time I almost had to force feed him his potions."

"How did you…?" Ginny asked, wondering how Madame Promfrey could possibly have guessed, as she had, as to whom Lily's father might be.

"I have treated thousands of students, Miss Weasley. And it is my job to understand the human body to the fullest fathomable amount. It is easy for me to tell who the parent of a child is simply by looking at their features. That, and I have never known any other family than the Evans to produce children with eyes that green."

"You knew Harry's mother's family?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I'm a Muggleborn. I went to school with Lily Potter's father before I started Hogwarts. Our families weren't extremely close, but it was a small town."

"Wow." Ginny said, looking a little flummoxed. You learned something new every day, or in the case of that particular day, a lot of a new things.

* * *

Heh, guess you can't say I left you hanging for too long, now can you? Lemme know what you think, I love hearing from you! It was particulary exciting writing this chapter... so much is revealed in it. Of course, you probably could have guessed most of it already.

Lots of love,

S.Q.O.


	11. Feelings

Disclaimer: Mostly JK Rowling's characters and definitely her world.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Eleven: Feelings_

"Good morning my little sleepyhead." Ginny smiled as Lily yawned, stretching her good arm upwards. She looked up at Ginny, her eyes a little crusty, a few sleep lines pressed into her cheek, but otherwise wide away. She rubbed at her eyes and nuzzled her head against Ginny's shoulder tightly.

"You stayed all night?"

"Of course I stayed!" Ginny hugged her a little tighter than she already was. "After sharing a dorm with a gaggle of other girls, the hospital wing can be quite the lonely place at night. Not to mention a tad bit scary the first time."

"Big empty castle room that isn't particularly cozy." Lily nodded in complete understanding, lifting her head up to kiss Ginny's cheek. "I'm glad you stayed."

"Lilyyyy!" Luna's voice called as she opened the door and skipped in, followed by a bouncing ball of fluff.

As soon as he saw his favorite girl, Quaffle let out one of his rare high pitched squealing noises and broke into what could only be described as a bouncing, rolling attempt at running. He bounced onto the bed and rolled up Lily's legs into her lap, humming and pressing himself tightly against her stomach. Lily laughed, stroking him with her good arm and leaning forward to give him a snurfle. "Mmmm…I missed you."

"He wouldn't stop whimpering at all last night." Luna said, flopping down upon the bed and looking tired. "I was half tempted to break curfew and bring him down here. You don't have to stay here overnight again, do you? Cause if you do, Quaffle is staying here too."

"No, she should be able to go to breakfast once I've cleared her." Madame Promfrey came out of her office, carrying a potion. "Is there any pain?"

"I broke my arm." Lily said, frowning with that looked like a 'duh' expression in her eyes. She wasn't normally this cranky towards people, but she couldn't help it. She was quite sick of being stuck in the Hospital Wing by this point. She'd been there a whole day without much to do except for sleeping and playing wizard's chess with Luna, which they hadn't even been able to finish.

"Lily!" Ginny prodded her none to gently in the side. "That was rude."

"Sorry…" Lily frowned, but she was still partially irate. She loved her Luna and her Ginny, but she wanted freedom. "I don't like being a prisoner."

"You're not a prisoner. As soon as I've made sure you haven't done anything to further dislocate your bones, then you'll be free to go." Madame Promfrey seemed nonplussed by the attitude she was receiving. She'd dealt with it before in her time. She reached out and undid Lily's sling, revealing a plain white plaster cast inside of it. Lily winced as she held out her arm and Madame Promfrey gave it a tap with her wand. "Radionix!"

Lily's cast and arm were suddenly see through, the only visible bit of her her bones, which were pressed together, but with a few serious cracks here and there. She stared at herself in astonishment, looking at her insides the way one would look at an x-ray, only this was complete and utterly looking at her actual bones, not just a picture.

"They seem to be in the right places in order to heal while you wait for the potion. I've never met anyone before who was allergic to Skele-Gro, but I suppose there's a first for everything. Here, pain potion. It'll last you about ten hours, so you'll need to return to me for a bit stronger dose later tonight." Lily took the cup and downed the green potion, making a face at hour terrible it tasted. Madame Promfrey handed her a glass of water to clear the taste out of her mouth, and Lily gave a great sigh of relief.

"My arm's all tingly!"

"That means it's working. The tingling will stop in a bit. You're free to change into your robes and go." Lily smiled, slipping out of the bed at once, Quaffle rolling about on the sheets. Ginny helped her get the nightgown off and her school robes on, smiling.

"Want to sign my cast, Luna?" Lily asked, digging into her pocket to retrieve a quill and some color changing ink.

"Sure!" Luna said excitedly, taking the quill and unscrewing the ink bottle as Lily held out her casted arm. She dipped the quill into the ink and scribbled onto Lily's cast. "There! It's so much prettier now."

"You sign too, Ginny! And then I can be a walking autograph book!" Lily said, just as excited as Luna. Ginny laughed and signed her cast with her loopy signature.

"So, how did it feel to fly, Lily?" She asked, handing her back the quill. She hadn't wanted to bring it up the night before. She was a bit worried that the crash would have put Lily wary when it came to flying, but she needn't have. Lily bounced again, the way she always did when she was excited about something.

"Oh, Ginny! It was the most amazing feeling ever. It was like… like…" Lily searched for a word.

"Like you were home?" Ginny asked, remembering how Harry used to describe how being on a broom felt for him the time they'd discussed it.

"Yeah!" Lily nodded and beamed still. She picked Quaffle up with her good arm and Luna grabbed her school bag. "What class do we have first today?"

"It's Saturday, Lily!" Luna shook her head at her best friend's forgetfulness and helped her sling her bag over her shoulders so it hung down.

"Oh….oh! Ginny you'll stay with us today, oh won't you?" Lily begged, gripping onto the older woman's hand and looking up at her pleadingly. Ginny sighed and tousled her hair.

"Yes, Aunt Ginny! Stay!"

"'fraid not, huns. I've got practice starting at eleven." Ginny looked down at their disappointed faced, Lily had stopped bouncing. "But I'll stay for breakfast."

"Ok!" Lily laughed, beaming up at her again and hugging Quaffle tightly to her chest with her good arm. He snuggled against her, not the least bit ready to be away from her again. The foursome headed down to the Great Hall where they were immediately surrounded by excitable first years, wanting to know what it was like to be up on a broom, and a few other students who recognized Ginny and had the courage to ask her for an autograph, most of them girls.

Lily and Luna dragged Ginny over to the Ravenclaw table, taking their usual seats and piling food onto their plates. Ginny smiled as she watched them… they had to be just about as close as Ron and Harry had been when they were at school. It was kind of like how she'd heard Harry and Fred were the new Fred and George, causing mayhem whenever they deemed it needed.

"Er... eh-hem." Lily turned in her seat to find a slightly pink faced Xavier standing there. He held out a roll of parchment. "I er… I copied down yesterday's notes and assignments for you." He shoved the roll of parchment at her before she could respond and then quickly retreated, grabbing some toast as he left the Great Hall.

"I already did that for you." Luna said a bit scathingly, watching Xavier go. She looked over Lily's shoulder at the roll of parchment as she opened it. "Though… I didn't quite do it in that amount of detail." Xavier's notes consisted of neat hand writing and a lot of parenthesis, as though he'd written down both what was on the board and what the professors had been saying in Transfiguration, Potions, and Defense against the Dark Arts.

"It must have taken him forever…" Lily said, staring at the notes with wide eyes. "That was really nice of him." She rolled the notes back up, thinking she'd go over them later when she started her homework. She tucked them safely away in her bag.

"Was that a friend of your's, Lily?" Ginny asked curiously, her eyes having followed Xavier from the room.

"Not really… He doesn't want to be friends with anyone…"

"That's because he's a rotting, stinking Malfoy."

"If your family disowned you when you got put in Ravenclaw, you'd try everything you could to get back in their good graces." Lily said defensively. She wasn't sure why she kept standing up for Xavier. He was a jerk most of the time… but then… he'd also taken the time to copy out his notes for her. There was a nice boy behind the jerk somewhere. She just knew it. "He's not as bad as you think he is."

"Whatever." Luna rolled her eyes and jammed an egg into her mouth, the subject finished. She didn't like to fight with Lily, so she'd decided not to pursue it.

"He's a Malfoy in Ravenclaw?" Ginny asked, looking interested and quite surprised. "I've never heard of such a thing. His folks must be outraged."

"They sent him a Howler when they found out. They said he can't come home until he proves himself worthy of being a Malfoy again." Lily frowned, stabbing her fork into a sausage and biting into it. "But I think he should just ditch them and be himself."

"It's not as easy to give up one's family as you might think." Ginny shook her head at her, not really knowing what to tell her.

"My parents gave me up just fine." Lily said after a few moments, her voice full of venom as she stabbed rather harshly at an over-easy egg yolk. It burst under the pressure and began bleeding yellow insides all over the plate.

"That's not true." Ginny sighed, wincing inwardly about the subject. So was this what had been going on in the girl's mind? How long had she been thinking these things and not saying them aloud? Had she just kept them to herself to save the Weasleys from the harm of hearing them? Gosh, she was just like her father…

"Yes it is." Lily said, mutilating her eggs further, her body full of anger. No matter how many times she'd told people that she was indeed one of the Weasleys, they always looked at her in shock, as though they couldn't believe someone like her could be part of that particular family. And then, when asked who her parents were, she would shake her head and say she didn't know, and that was usually the end of the conversation. "If they had wanted me, they wouldn't have ditched me."

"Of course he wanted you! He didn't want to leave you." Ginny said desperately, remembering the note that had been left with Lily. It was still in her mother's apron pocket, where she liked to keep it safe. "But he had to Lily… there are… there are some things that can't be explained. But you've got to know, that he wanted you."

"No." Lily said, her entire golden plate covered in a yolky mess. "He… my dad…" She said, recognizing Ginny's use of the word 'he'. So that meant she must know that it had been her father whom had left her. But why would he have if he wanted her as Ginny said he did? It made no sense unless he didn't want her. "He didn't even leave me with family. I'm not a Weasley."

"Of course you-" Ginny started, but Lily cut her off, gaining the eyes of those closest around them and the Weasleys sitting down over at the Gryffindor table.

"No! I'm not a Weasley! I look nothing like any of you! And you won't even tell me who my parents are! I've counted! Gramma… Mrs. Weasley… she had seven children. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred who died ages ago, George, Ron, and you. And none of you are my parents, so how could I be a Weasley? I don't have any red in my hair or freckles…" Lily was distraught now, having dropped her fork and broken down in tears at the full admittance of what had been going on in her head.

"Lily, listen to me, ok? It's true, your parents aren't Weasleys, but your dad… he might as well have been." Ginny thought back to how Harry had come that first summer, and how she had seen him just about every summer after that, joining her family. She knew he'd been like a seventh brother to Ron and an extra son to her parents. "He didn't really have… we were his family, for the most part."

"Then who was he? What was his name?" Lily asked, her eyes beseeching Ginny to tell her the truth, for an answer that would make absolute sense, that would indicate what Ginny was saying to be true. That he father had really been an adoptive part of the Weasley family… just as she had become.

"I… I can't say…" Ginny sighed, feeling that now was not the time. If Harry's letter (and she was convinced by this point that it was from Harry) was true in saying that he and Lily were in danger, then she wasn't about to give Lily the information whomever was trying to hurt them were seeking. It was a stupid idea, but Ginny felt that as long as Lily didn't know exactly whom her father was, then she would be safe. Nobody would be able to come and take her away from her.

"Then it's a lie…" Lily pushed her plate away, grabbing up Quaffle. "It's all just been a lie. You don't know who my dad is, otherwise you'd tell me. I'm not really a Weasley…" She stated this with finality before she bolted from the room.

Ginny sighed, placing her head down in her hands. What had she done? She loved Lily to bits, but she still hadn't been able to protect her from what was the truth and what was a lie. If only Harry hadn't just left her with them… if only he'd come and asked for help instead. But no, he was always too worried about someone else getting hurt. He wouldn't have involved them except to leave his daughter where he knew she would be the safest and receive the care she deserved… and at that moment, Ginny felt like she'd failed at giving her that care.

"Aunt Ginny, are you alright?" Luna asked reaching a hand up to tug at one of her aunt's hands.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Eat your breakfast." Ginny sighed, letting her hands fall and reaching out to give her niece a one armed hug. She remembered when Luna had been born… Hermione had been so impossibly excited about the fact that she had a girl… and Ron had been incredibly anxious over it. He'd gone into a state of panic, wondering how he'd cope when she was older, because he'd never really been able to understand girls much. He'd flooed Ginny asking how the hell he was supposed to understand his own daughter? And now he and Luna were closer than he'd ever been with Harry.

"oo 'ure?" Much closer. Harry never talked with his mouth full of food.

"Chew then chat." Ginny smiled slightly, repeating Hermione's constant refrain.

"You're in a right state." Lily looked up from where she sat by the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room, her face buried against Quaffle. As far as she was concerned, he was the only family she had right now. Her tear streaked faced looked up to find Xavier frowning at her. Looking around, she noted that the common room was otherwise empty; everyone else must be at breakfast, in the library, or outside. It was one of those super nice sunny looking autumn days. "D'you… d'you wanna talk about it?"

"I thought you didn't speak to anyone." Lily said a bit scathingly, glaring at him.

"Yeah well…" Xavier seemed to be fighting to find words. "You're not anyone… and you're crying. Did Weasley do something to upset you?"

"All the Weasleys upset me. They pretended I belonged with them." Lily said after a few moments of silence. She was even mad at Luna, though she knew she had only been trusting her parents' word when they'd told them they were cousins. "I'm not really a Weasley."

"I already told you that." Xavier rolled his eyes and flopped down into the chair across from her.

"Yeah well… you don't need to rub it in." Lily ran her sleeve over her eyes. They hurt from rubbing away the tears so much, but she couldn't get herself to calm down long enough to stop crying. She was just so out of sorts. She didn't know who her family was, the people she thought were her family had lied to her… her own parents didn't want her. It was a lot for an eleven year old to have to go through. "Your family doesn't want you either."

"Yeah well, you don't need to rub it in." Xavier mocked her, digging into his pocket and offering up a handkerchief that was bound to be a lot softer than the sleeve of Lily's robes. She took it and rubbed at her eyes, nearly smiling. Xavier leaned back in his seat, his brown eyes on her ponderingly. "Looks like we have something in common, Carpenter."

"I suppose we do, Malfoy." Lily offer him back his handkerchief and he took it, placing it back into his pocket, glad she hadn't blown her nose on it. "Thanks by the way… for the notes. They must have taken you forever."

"Not too long… I didn't really have anything else to do." Xavier admitted, his ears going pink as they had earlier.

"Would you like to study with me?" Lily asked after a few minutes of silence. She reached for her bag with her good arm, but Xavier shook his head.

"All I ever do is study…" He looked around the room, but found nothing interesting there. He pondered for a few moments before grinning slightly. "Have you ever played Gobstones?"

"No. What's that?" Lily asked curiously, tilted her head to one side. Her tie slipped and pressed slightly against her cheek. She still liked to wear it as a hair band most of the time as opposed to wearing it around her neck as she was supposed to, but the professors hadn't said a word to her about it.

"Want to have a game? I can teach you, it's easy. I play… used to play it with my brothers."

"Alright." Lily nodded. Xavier got out of his chair and hurried up the boys' stairs to his dormitory to retrieve his collection. He held up the a wooden box similar to the one Lily's potion ingredients were kept in and motioned for her to join him on a spacier part of the floor. Xavier opened the box and pulled out a small silver square which he placed on the floor and tapped three times in the center. It expanded, creating a two square foot space on the carpet that looked incredibly smooth. The square had circles on it, sort of like a darts target.

"This is my Snapper." Xavier pulled a large green and black swirled sphere from the box. Looking into the box Lily found herself staring at what appeared to be marbles, only they were more unique than normal Muggle marbles. There were solid colored ones, sparkly ones, double or triple colored ones, and clear ones with tiny little figures inside of them. Xavier had separated them by color, design, and size. Most of them were small, the size of average marbles, but there was a compartment with larger ones the size of Xavier's Snapper. "Here, you can use this one, since you like Quidditch." Xavier extracted a large clear Snapper containing what Lily saw to be a miniature Golden Snitch.

"Gobstones is pretty easy to understand." Xavier began, reaching into the box and grabbing out a handful of the smaller Gobstones. "We'll start with the basic game. First one to get seven Gobstones out of the circle wins. But you can try and shoot the other person's Gobstones back into the circle, so it usually lasts longer than it sounds. Each Gobstone shot out of the circle is worth a point, each time one of yours gets shot back into the circle, you lose a point, but it's easier to get them out than to get them back in. Sometimes you can overshoot it and it'll go through the circle instead, in which case, the other person earns another point, but it doesn't count as an extra Gobstone out, so you still have to try for seven. To shoot, you put your Snapper between your fingers like this…" Xavier demonstrated, slipping the large green Snapper onto the first two fingers of his right hand. "And then you move your fingers like if you were going to snap them. That's why it's called a Snapper." Lily watched as he shot his Snapper into the circle, his finger clicking together as he did so. "Usually, the louder the snap, the stronger the shot. Oh, and I should warn you… Every time you lose a point, the Gobstone is going to spit at you. It doesn't hurt, it just smells foul."

"Well, it wouldn't be a wizarding game if the pieces didn't interact with us somehow, now would it?" Lily laughed, feeling a bit better as she watched Xavier pour about twenty of his Gobstones into the circle. "You go first."

Xavier nodded, concentrated, and shot his Snapper at the group of Gobstones. He hit a few, but because of the way they were grouped, they didn't scatter as far as they would have had he been able to just hit one. Lily bit her lip and shot her Snapper. It passed right by the other Gobstones and rolled its way out of the circle. Xavier laughed. "That's ok, you'll get it."

The two first years spent the next hour or so playing two games of basic Gobstones, Lily getting the hang of it about halfway through the first once, though Xavier still won. He was really good at the game, but then, he'd grown up playing it. They weren't interrupted, but some of the other Ravenclaws who had come up watched them until they grew bored and wandered away to do something else.

"I can't believe you'd rather play Gobstones with him than chess with me." Lily looked up as she was about to shoot her Snapper to find Luna looking down at her red faced. "He's just a jerk, Lily!"

"Hey!"

"Well, I can't believe you lied to me the way you did!" Lily retorted, taking her anger out on her Snapper as she shot it harshly at the Gobstones. Two of them rolled out of the circle, winning her the game, but she didn't even notice.

"How was I supposed to know it was a lie? They told me we were cousins! I was just as shocked as you were." Luna stomped her foot, looking rather like her father in her moment of rage. Lily sighed, feeling her anger with Luna ebb away slightly. Maybe she was right… it hadn't been her fault for not knowing…

"I'm sorry, Luna. I just… I was really hurt." Lily said, looking up at her best friend. She got up off of her knees and Luna tackled her back down with a hug, despite the other girl's broken arm.

"You're my best mate. You should know by now that I love you. I wouldn't hurt you."

"I love you too, Luna." Lily hugged her back tightly. "But you really shouldn't call Xavier a jerk, he's…" She looked down to find that the Malfoy boy and his set of Gobstones had disappeared. But the Snapper he had lent Lily was still there. She bent down and picked it up, holding it tightly. "He's nice if you take the time to get to know him."

"Sure he is." Luna grimaced. "C'mon Lily, it's almost dinner time and you know how Quaffle gets when he's hungry…" Lily looked down at her fluffy pet. He'd been watching the game of Gobstones curiously, but had otherwise been fairly quiet the past hour. Seeing Lily looking at him however, he bounced, humming up at her happily. She smiled and pocketed the Snapper, picking up Quaffle.

"What d'you say, Quaffle? Are you hungry?" The puffskein's stomach growled in response and his tongue slipped out of his mouth, aiming for Lily's nose. She giggled.

* * *

Well, there we go! Heh, I had fun working on the Gobstones rules, because I wasn't really sure how to go about them. I wikied the basics though. Anyways, lemme know what you thought! I'd love to hear from you and what you might want to see happen. Oh, and to snurfle is to hug something with your face. It's kind of like a nuzzle, only you use your entire face to do it.

Bunches of luffs and puffskein cuddles,

S.Q.O.


	12. Accident

Disclaimer: JK Rowling ect, ect, same old stuff I always put here.

I'd like to give some credit to Blueandgreen91: You suggested it, you got it.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Twelve: Accident_

"Lily, you've another letter from Aunt Ginny." Luna said, holding up the envelope that had just landed on the breakfast table. Lily eyed it angrily, taking it and tearing it in half before discarding it on her plate. It would be taken care of when the table was cleared. "Lily! You can't stay mad at her forever. Come on, it's been over a month nearly."

"Yes I can. She lied to me, Luna. She's the last person I would've ever thought would lie to me, but she did." Luna sighed, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice and lifting up the Daily Prophet. She borrowed each day's copy from the fifth year Ravenclaw girl who's parents sent it to her, hoping their daughter would become a little more aware of the outside world than of her boyfriend. Pumpkin juice splattered from her mouth, spraying the Eden who was sitting across from her. The blond girl made a face and grabbed up a napkin.

"Lily, check this out…" She pressed the paper to Lily, who took it looking confused.

"Puddlemere United beat the Wilbourne Wasps, 340 to 110?" Lily asked, looking at the picture of the Puddlemere United Seeker catching the Golden Snitch.

"Yes… but no!" Luna sighed in frustration, grabbing back the news paper and flipping it over to point to a different headline. "THIS!"

_Harry Potter: The-Boy-Who-Lives? By Maude Milderin_

_Many of us will always remember the Boy-Who-Lived, the only person to ever have survived the Killing Curse. Potter was murdered on May 2__nd__, 1998 by the Dark Lord Voldemort and he was buried in a tomb on the Hogwarts School grounds under the beech tree he and his friends used to spend time beneath on sunny days. At the beginning of last month, in a flying lesson gone wrong, a pair of first years crashed into the beech tree and a branch fell, shattering the top of Potter's tomb. Believe it or not dear readers, but a reliable source has told me that the tomb was discovered to be empty. That's right. There is no body in Harry Potter's tomb! I was just as shocked and astounded as you are. Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall has refused to comment about the matter. Taking it upon myself, I have visited Hogwarts to see the tomb for myself. Though the cover has been repaired, it has not been replaced upon the top of the tomb. It is obvious that it is empty, which begs the question… where is the body of Harry Potter? Has he been moved to be buried with his parents in Godric's Hallow? Or, is it possible, that he survived yet again, and didn't want us to know? Potter spent nearly a year on the run, avoiding the public eye during the war, could he, perhaps, have wanted to continue living out of the public eye and therefore, faked his death allowing Voldemort to be slain by the brave Neville Longbottom? This is one of those things, dear readers, that we may never know, but this reporter can assure you, she is going to do everything she can to find out where Harry Potter is, whether it is dead or, incredibly, alive._

"Wow… so he could be alive."

"I know right?" Luna shoveled a spoon overloaded with scrambled eggs into her mouth. "Ib o'ally 'a'y!"

"What?" Lily stared at her. Luna chewed and swallowed her eggs.

"I said, it's totally crazy! Harry Potter's been dead for twenty years, my parents were there."

"They saw him killed?"

"Well, no… but they helped bury him." Luna said matter-of-factly, eating away at her scrambled eggs some more while Lily watched her questioningly. "They were with him, y'know, when he went on the run. They wouldn't tell me all the details, said they weren't important to know, but I figure they were together for about… nine months. 'cause they left at the very beginning of August, and the war didn't end until the second of May. A lot of facts about the war are in this book I got out of the library, The Second Great Wizarding War. It's really good."

"Oh." Lily pondered that over for a few minutes, quietly eating at her eggs now, wondering about this Harry Potter fellow. "Hey, Luna… that was the guy Ginny loved right?"

"Yeah. Poor Aunt Ginny…" Luna sighed, stabbing at her pancakes.

"Alright class, today we shall be learning a pair of new spells." Professor Flitwick stated happily, his squeaky voice quieting the first years done. "Some of you may have already heard or read about them. Let's begin by making sure you all have the basic wand movement down correctly. You first, if you will, Mister Malfoy."

Xavier raised his wand and swished it inwards, ending with a teeniest of flicks with the tip of it. A few sparks flew out of the end and Professor Flitwick nodded his approval. "Very good, very good. Remember class, if you do the movement correctly but do not say the spell, then you should receive sparks. Miss Kruthers, you next." Cammie picked up her wand and gave it a wave, mimicking Xavier with ease. By now wand movements were pretty old school for this particular set of first years, but Professor Flitwick insisted on testing them before they ever learned a new spell.

"There we are, very good Miss Weasley. On we go! This week, we shall be learning the Enlargement Charm, and the Shrinking Charm." Flitwick pointed his wand at the quill sitting on his desk. "Engorgio!" The quill grew until it was about three times as big as it had been, and Flitwick simply moved his wand from pointing at it to stop it from growing. He swished it again. "Reducio!" The quill began to shrink… small and small it got… until it was so small the class was craning it's necks to try and see it. "Simple enough to learn. Now then, I want you all to repeat after me. En-gooor-gee-oh."

"En-gooor-gee-oh." The class chorus.

"Engooorgio."

"Engoorgio."

"Very good, very good. Remember to make your 'or's nice a long, but not too long, otherwise it won't work. Try it on your quills. If they start to get too big, redirect your wand to end the spell." The class did as they were told, wands and words flying about.

"Woah!" Lily exclaimed as her quill began to grow. She allowed it to get as big as her arm before she pointed her wand down and away from it. She reached forward and picked up her quill with both hands, feeling how heavy it was for a hollow bird's feather. Her arm had been healed completely a few weeks prior, Slughorn having finished the substitute potion for Skele-Gro. "Luna!" She gleefully presented the quill to her best friend who laughed, giving it a prode with her wand. Luna was more adept at Transfiguration than Charms, and had not yet gotten her quill to grow.

"Nice going, Lily."

"Thanks." Lily beamed. Flitwick went around the room, helping those who were having trouble and shrinking the quills of those who weren't so they could have another go. He shrunk Lily's quill.

"Alright, Miss Carpenter, show me how you do it."

"Engorgio!" Lily said proudly, pointing her wand at her quill. It began to grow and Flitwick clapped.

"Oh, excellent Miss Carpenter!" Flitwick placed one of his color changing star stickers on her desk. He'd taken to giving out stickers to his students, especially the younger ones, after going to a Muggle teaching seminar a few years ago. He'd tried to teach his reward method to several of the other teachers, but so far, Professor Longbottom was the only one who had agreed to try it. Only instead of giving out stickers, he gave out seeds for his students to plant in their house's greenhouse. The house greenhouses had been his idea to help the students get a little more excited about the plants, and it was a good chance for those who loved Herbology to be able to spend time in a greenhouse without necessary supervision.

"Thanks, Professor." Lily grinned, looking at the sticker. She'd add it to the collection she and the other girls had started on the inside of their dorm door. The bell rang and the class began packing their things up.

"Tomorrow we will work on the Shrinking Charm! Please read about both spells in your books, page fourty, I believe it is. Have a good day." Flitwick called as the class left, heading for the Great Hall for dinner.

"Ah, Miss Weasley, Miss Carpenter." The girls spun around to find Professor McGongall walking down the hallway towards them, a letter in her hand and a frown on her face. She looked mildly worried about something. "I need to see the two of you in my office right away. Come." Looking at each other and wondering what they had done wrong, Lily and Luna followed after McGonagall curiously, Quaffle following after them. She quickly led them down the corridor until they reached a stone gargoyle who looked up at her.

"Password?"

"Bagpipes."

The stone gargoyle nodded and sank into the floor to revealing a great spiraling stair case. McGonagall stepped upon it and the two first years climbed on up after her and into her office. "Have a seat." The girl sat down in the hard backed chairs on the opposite side of the desk while McGonagall slipped into the tall chair behind in. She sighed. "I have here a letter from your grandmother. It seems your Aunt Ginny was in an accident during the Quidditch match this afternoon."

"Is she ok?" Luna asked, her eyes glued to the piece of parchment in McGonagall's hand. Lily felt all of the color slowly draining from her face, her strange colored eyes wide and prominent against the paleness of her skin. Ginny was hurt? Brooms flew really high in professional Quidditch matches… if she had fallen… Lily choked, gulping. If Ginny was dead… then the last things she would have said to her would have been really mean…

"I'm not going to lie to you, she was very seriously injured and had to be sent to St. Mungo's right away. Your grandmother requested for you and your cousins, to be brought to St. Mungo's as soon as was possible. The rest of your family is already there and waiting for the pair of you."

"Why didn't you get us right away?"

"Tracking down nine different students in different years takes a little bit longer than you might think, Miss Weasley. However, I think I did fairly well considering I only received this letter fifteen minutes ago." McGonagall rose from her chair and offered them a pot of Floo Powder. "You'll come out in the lobby, one of your relatives will meet you there." Luna and Lily both too handfuls of Floor powder and climbed into the fireplace together, their hands clasped.

"St. Mungo's!" They disappeared in a whirling of green fire and pressed closely together as they flew through the network, falling hard out of a rather large fireplace in a sterilely white room.

"Uncle Bill!" Luna and Lily rushed forward, covered in soot. Bill caught them up and grabbed hold of Luna's hand, leading her and Lily down the hall to the waiting room containing the rest of their family and six women clad in dark green Quidditch robes. Quaffle rolled after them, seeming to sense that this was a place he shouldn't be bouncing in. Most of the children were on the floor, as there were not enough chairs in the room to hold the entire family. Mrs. Weasley sat in a corner, handkerchief to her face, her husband's arm about her shoulders. In that moment, Lily's anger was forgotten towards the Weasleys and she let go of Luna's hand. She bolted to Mrs. Weasley and climbed up into the woman's lap, even though she was much too old to be doing so. Mrs. Weasley wrapped both arms around her and rocked her back and forth, kissing her head and not seeming to care that she was covered in soot.

"W-we don't know anything yet." Mrs. Weasley sobbed.

"What happened exactly?" Mr. Weasley asked, turning his attention to the six women in Quidditch robes who Lily realized were the entire first string of her favorite Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies… the team Ginny played for.

"Oh it was awful." The woman with a badge on her chest stating she was the Captain started. Lily recognized her as Gylia Govvan, one of the team's Chasers. She would never be as good a Captain as Gwenog Jones had been, but Lily liked her well enough and she was one of the world's best Chasers, something Lily would love to have been. "She took a Bludger to the head, which, as you know, happens on occasion. But it sent her through the hoops and she bashed off of them several times as she fell. Gavine tried to catch her, but it was too late. They got a Cushioning Charm under her before she hit, so that helped, but… still… all those whacks into the hoop…" Gylia winced and Mrs. Weasley gave an even louder sob. "The game was still going on last I checked… our entire reserve team is in. We couldn't bear not knowing… we love Ginny. But she wouldn't have wanted us to forfeit the game on her account."

"Ginevra Weasley's family?" A Healer asked entering the waiting room. When all but two people in the room stood up, he looked a little shocked but quickly over came it. "Please, sit down." The Weasleys and the Harpies sat back down, staring at him with pleading eyes. "Ginevra is stable. She has a cracked skull, but we're used to seeing those with incidents such as these, they're nothing new. We'll give her some Skele-Gro and that'll fix that up. She also took a pretty hard hit to her back and I'm afraid her spine has been broken. We're working on repairing it, but we're not seeing any response in her nerves from the waist down…"

"Oh my Merlin." Mrs. Weasley sobbed louder, burying her head against her husband's shoulder, squishing Lily between them as the little girl stared at the Healer in absolute shock. Ginny was… she…

"She's paralyzed from the waist down basically. But, with the magic and Muggle technology we have these days, there is a chance she'll make a full recovery and be able to walk again. It's not for certain and it will be a long time until we know for sure. She'll be in a wheelchair for a while and she'll have to go to a physical therapist, but she's lucky to be alive. That blow to her back could have just as easily been her neck."

"Oh my poor baby girl… my baby's paralyzed…" Mrs. Weasley sobbed even harder. Mr. Weasley looked from his wife up to the Healer.

"When can we see her?"

"As soon as they're done working on her spine. I recommend that you head home for now and we'll contact you as soon as she can have visitors. We really don't… allow pets…" The Healer said looking down at Quaffle in Luna's lap.

"Why don't you all take the children home. It's getting late, they should be in b-bed." Mrs. Weasley suggested, looking at her sons and daughter-in-laws. "I'm going to stay here."

"You're going to come along with us, Lily." Hermione said softly, reaching her hand out to Lily, still sitting silently in Mrs. Weasley's lap.

"I… I want to stay here." Hermione looked at Mrs. Weasley who nodded and hugged Lily closer, needing someone to hold onto. "Could you take Quaffle with you? He'll be good, and Luna knows how to take care of him. He loves her."

"Of course." Hermione nodded and gave Mrs. Weasley a hug. "Let us know as soon as we can see her."

"Mum, can I get you any tea or anything before I go?' Charlie asked, the last remaining Weasley in the room aside from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. The Holyhead Harpies had left as well, probably to go back to their game, if it was still going on. Charlie had come from Romania as soon as he'd heard the news, so he wasn't going to be going home until after he'd seen his baby sister.

"I... I suppose some tea would be nice." Mrs. Weasley nodded, pointing her wand at her handkerchief. "Tergio." She stated simply, cleaning it before she blew her nose yet again. "Lily, why don't you go with Charlie? Give you something to do."

"Alright, Gramma."

"Dad?"

"A coffee please. It's going to be a long night I think."

Lily slipped off of Mrs. Weasley's lap, reaching for Charlie's hand. She didn't know why she always wanted to hold someone's hand or hug them, but that was just her way. She supposed maybe her parents had taught her to be that way with lots of cuddles, but then, she also supposed she could be craving the attention due to having lacked it. If she could only remember her parents, she would know for sure. Once they were out of earshot, Lily looked up at Charlie. "Hey, Charlie?"

"Yes, Lily?" He looked down at her curiously. He hadn't spent much time with this second to youngest niece of his, but from what he'd heard from the rest of his family, she was fairly well behaved and perceptive. He was also kind of confused as to why she never called any of them aunt or uncle and opted straight for their first names instead.

"D'you think Ginny's going to be able to walk again?"

"Dunno. It's possible, what do you think."

"I think… that she's going to be way to stubborn to stop her from trying until she does." Charlie laughed.

"I think you're probably right about that one. Ginny's always been full of fire and stubbornness. Ah, here we are… the tearoom and gift shop. Did you want anything to eat?"

"No… I'm…" Lily shook her head, her stomach giving a growl, but she felt more nauseous than she did hungry.

"Too worried to eat. But I'm betting you missed dinner, so tell you what… I'll get something for everyone and if you want your's later, you can have it then alright?"

"Alright."

"Why don't you go pick something out for Ginny for when she wakes up?" Charlie said, nodding to the gift shop portion of the little area. "I'll get the food and meet you in a few minutes."

"Sure." Lily forced a smile and wandered into the shelves of plush, get well cards, and maternity clothes. Charlie kept a close eye on her while he stood in the short line, waiting to order the tea. Lily pondered, looking over the cards and flowers unsurely. Would Ginny be mad at her for running out on her in the Great Hall that day? Or would she forgive her? Maybe a plushie… Lily turned down the second aisle and at once snatched up a lion with a ribbon around it's neck stating to "Get Betroar!". Ginny had been a Gryffindor at school, maybe the lion would help to remind her to be brave while she was getting better. When Charlie returned with a paper bag and tray of drinks, she presented it to him and he grinned, bringing it over to the till to pay for it. She hoped Ginny would like it.

Returning to the waiting room, Charlie gave his mother her tea and his father his coffee before sitting down in his own seat, leaving a space for Lily to sit between him and Mrs. Weasley. He offered her a cup and she took it, hoping that it wasn't tea. One sip later told her it was hot chocolate. "We got Ginny a lion." She told Mrs. Weasley, pointing to the bag the lion was in. Mrs. Weasley took her hand, giving it a pat.

"I'm sure she'll love it, dear."

"Excuse me?" The four of them looked up from their cups to find a balding brown haired man with a large beard standing before them. He had a paper pad and a quill in one hand and a camera around his neck. "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, you're Ginevra Weasley's family?"

"Yes?" Mr. Weasley asked, standing up and looking a bit wary of the man.

"Sir, my name is Pendleton Cruskey, I write for the sports section of the Daily Prophet." Pendleton offered his hand to Mr. Weasley. "I was wondering if you would be willing to have a quick chat with me? Of course, I realize this must be a trying time for you, so if you say no, I'll completely understand. But, Miss Weasley is one of the wizarding world's greatest athletes and after her fall, everyone is pretty worried about her. I wanted to be sure we got a factual story in the paper, as opposed to one based off of opinions of what might be going on with her here in the hospital."

"Well, I suppose we could…" Mr. Weasley looked at his wife who sighed and gave him a small nod. "Just for a few minutes."

"Thank you, sir. I promise you I'll keep it brief. Now, Miss Weasley took quite the fall off of her broom, are you able to tell me of her injuries and condition?"

"We would rather keep that private, but she's stable. The Healers are expecting her to take a while recovering. She's not dead, nor will she be."

"Understandable. Stable… slow recovery… lucky to be alive? Is that alright, sir."

"Well, yes… she is very lucky to be alive."

"And how is your family handling this, sir."

"As can be expected. We're worried about her, but we know she'll pull through just fine."

"I can see you've got your wife, son, and…"

"My granddaughter."

"Here with you. What are your thoughts about your daughter's fall, Mrs. Weasley?"

"I wish it hadn't of happened, but I suppose that's Quidditch for you." Mrs. Weasley sighed sadly, shaking her head, not wanting to answer any more questions. She was still wary of the way the Prophet portrayed people, even though it had been years since it had printed anything scandalous that wasn't scandalous.

"And what about you , Charlie, any thoughts about your sister?" Charlie shook his head, he didn't really have anything to say. Pendleton turned his attention to Lily, stooping down to get to her level. "And what about you, darling? Do you think your aunt's going to make a full recovery?"

"She's too full of fire and stubbornness not to." Lily said after a minute, looking up at Charlie who smiled down at her.

"I think that'll do. Thank you all very much." The reporter shook Mr. Weasley's hand again. "We'll probably print this in this morning's paper, let the public know how she's doing. Thanks a lot." He left, leaving the Weasleys and Lily to sit in their silence.

"Oh, I do hope he doesn't mess our words around." Mrs. Weasley wrung her hands around her tea cup, looking a bit worried.

"Nah, Mum. I went to school with Cruskey. He's probably the most truthful guy they've got working at the paper. I always read his articles."

"Oh good." Mrs. Weasley looked reassured, reaching down for the bag of food. "Let's see what we've got in here dear… I bet this is for you." She pulled out what appeared to be a small treacle pie, not quite small enough to be a tart, but not quite big enough to be considered a full pie either. Lily's stomach growled and she gave into it, knowing that, even though she was worried about Ginny, she wouldn't ever be able to resist anything with the word 'treacle' in its name.

* * *

This one took a bit to write. Anyways, I hope you liked it! Lemme know what you thought, I'd love to hear from you and it spurs me on further.

Love and snugs,

S.Q.O.


	13. Hospital

Disclaimer: Although I wish they did, a good portion of these characters and the settings belong to JK. Rowling. Bless her awesomeness.

* * *

Little Lily

_Chapter Thirteen: Hospital_

Ginny groaned, reaching a hand up to rub at her head only to find it covered in bandaging. Confused, she blinked her eyes a few times, clearing them of that early morning fog they got sometimes when she'd slept too late. This wasn't her bedroom… everything was white… incredibly… sterile.

"Oh, Ginny dear!" Ginny's gaze turned to the brightest thing in the room besides the whiteness of it all: her mother's hair. Mrs. Weasley quickly hugged her daughter, planting a very gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Mum? What? Why…?" She was in the hospital… it made a bit more sense now, judging by the smell and the er… lack of decorativeness the room held… and the fact that there were a few other people in beds in here as well, though neither of them seemed to be awake.

"You fell off your broom, sweetie." Mr. Weasley took his daughter's hand, squeezing it tightly. Ginny turned her head to look at him… she'd never seen her father so relieved about anything before. She must have really gone down hard for him to of been so worried. "How d'you feel?"

"Better than you look." Ginny stated cheekily, squeezing her dad's hand. She didn't like the look of the huge bags under his eyes, as though he'd been up for days without a single wink of sleep. She let go of his hand and moved her arms above her head, giving a good great big stretch, feeling her muscles pull gently in her arms and her back and her… she frowned, pressing to stretch her legs again. She felt herself panic a little and looked to her mother who burst into a fresh set of sobs. "Mum?" Something was wrong… She was used to her mum getting weepy but she'd been in the hospital from Quidditch accidents before… something was different this time… something… She pressed to stretch her legs again… only to find she couldn't. "Mum…" She said, a little more pressingly.

"When you fell, you broke your spine!" Mrs. Weasley bawled, blowing her nose hard into her handkerchief. "You… they said…" She seemed unable to continue and Ginny looked to her dad. He sighed, closing his eyes, seeming to struggle with words, forcing them out.

"You're paralyzed from the waist down." Ginny heard the words, but she couldn't comprehend them. What did he mean paralyzed? From the waist down? Her legs… She grabbed the covers and threw them back, looking down at her pale legs, tan against the whiteness of the sheets. She moved one in her mind, but in reality, it just sat there, like a useless lump of flesh. She reached forward, grabbing hold of her leg, pinching it… but nothing! There was no feeling here! Panicking even further, she dug her nails into the flesh of her calf, pressing down, harder and harder, desperate to feel them… trying to prove to herself that it couldn't be true.

Hands smaller than her own found her's, and Ginny looked up to find a fairly tearful Lily staring down at her. She blinked, astounded. Last she'd checked the eleven year old had not been speaking to her. Lily seemed to know what she was thinking, because she quickly looked away. "I'm sorry… for what I said."

"It's ok." Ginny gulped, letting go of her leg and opening her arms. Lily flung herself into them, gripping onto her as though afraid to let her go, her little body wracking with sobs. "Shush, it's alright. I'm not mad."

"I… It's my fault."

"What's your fault?"

"Your legs." Ginny bit her lip, not sure how Lily came to this particular conclusion. It was true she'd been distracted, thinking about how she could have taken her finding out she wasn't a Weasley differently. She would keep spacing out in practices and it was bad for her game, but she wasn't about to tell Lily that.

"No… no. That's not your fault… Accidents happen in Quidditch, it's just the way things are." Ginny tried to reassure her, her own pain momentarily forgotten.

"We got you a lion." Lily said after a few minutes, rubbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her school robes. She'd spent the night in them, curled up in Mr. Weasley's lap, unable to sleep until Ginny was awake. She tugged the lion out of the bag it was in and handed it to Ginny who gave it a snuggle.

"He's cute! Thanks! Hmm… I think I'll call him Gryffin." Lily beamed at her, climbing into the bed and cuddling up to her side.

"He's supposed to help you that you're a Gryffindor, so you have to be brave." Lily explained, burying her head up on Ginny's shoulder, a yawn escaping her. She seemed content enough now, eyes closing, sleeping finally claiming her brain. Ginny held her close, ignoring the pain in her head and the lack of feeling in her legs. Mrs. Weasley pulled the covers up over them, kissing her daughter's and then Lily's heads.

"The Healers probably won't want her to stay there for too long, dear."

"Ah, Miss Weasley! So good to see that you're awake." A Healer said, entering the room with a clipboard in his hand and wandering over to the bed. He moved to press his fingers against the bandaging on Ginny's head, causing her to let out a yelp of pain. "Still tender I see. Not to worry though, skulls tend to take a bit longer to heal due to the swelling. It's much better than it was when you first came in, so that's excellent. Now then… Can you feel this?" He pressed his hand down against her thigh and Ginny shook her head.

"No. I've already tried… I… will I still be able to fly though?"

"There are special harnesses that would keep you on your broomstick. Kicking off and landing tends to be a little bit more difficult, but I don't see why not. Your hands are more important when it comes to flying, but you would still have to learn how to control your broom without the use of your legs. The possibility of you finishing this season is great, so long as we're happy with the way your head heals. I think flying would be great therapy for you, mentally that is, to help you feel a bit more normal. But we're still going to do everything we can to get your back on your feet."

"Sounds great." Ginny smiled, nodding. She was still scared of course, but if she would still be able to fly, she wouldn't mind so much not having the use of her legs. And magic could usually heal just about anything, couldn't it? She figured she'd be back to walking in a month or so, maybe sooner.

"Well dear, you're taking this a-" Mrs. Weasley was cut off by a commotion coming from the hallway. They all turned to see a pair of Healers struggling with a tall, thick-set man. They seemed to be trying to pull him further down the hallway, his head bleeding profusely, matting his hair and leaking down his face.

"No! Take care of the other people! I'm fine! I don't need any help!'

"Sir, you need to calm down or I'm going to be forced to subdue you!

"Help the others first!"

"Sir, the others are mostly dead, there's nothing we can do for them. Now please!"

"I said, I don't need help!" The man broke free, running into the room and towards the window by Ginny's bed. He blasted it open with a silent spell shot from his wand and suddenly came to a halt, staring down at the Weasleys. His eyes drifted from Ginny in the bed to Lily sleeping beside her. His mouth moved, as though to say something but his words were taken from him as a spell shot over his head. Mr. Weasley moved to grab him, but he leaped out of the window, turning and disapparating in midair.

"What was that all about?" Mr. Weasley asked the Healers who had come running into the room after the man.

"There was some kind of attack down in the street right in front of the hospital. I expect we'll hear about it in the Evening Prophet, but that man there…" The Healer pointed out the window. "Was dueling some men in Muggle clothes…. And he was the only eye witness who wasn't killed in the explosion one of the other men must have caused. It's Sirius Black all over again… Muggles dead, a big hole in the street."

"Are the Aurors already out there investigating it?"

"Yeah, they've blocked off the entire area and are dressed in Muggle policemen uniforms so the Muggles don't get suspicious. They'll probably put around that it was a gas explosion, just like they all those years ago… how many was it? Fourty?"

"Thirty-seven. My youngest son was one when that happened." Mr. Weasley said, thinking automatically. He took off his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, Molly, Ginny. I should really get down there, see if Kingsley wants to involve… well, you know."

Mrs. Weasley nodded and Ginny reached out a hand. "Be careful, Dad." He nodded, giving them both a smile.

"I'll be fine. You rest up. I'll see you later." He rose from his seat beside Ginny's bed, gave all three of the girls a kiss and then left the room hurriedly. Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"And to think we thought all of this warring between each other was over. And now with all of the grandkids… it this escalates the way it did last time…"

"Don't worry, Mum. I doubt it will. It's probably just that gang Kingsley was talking about, they can't be anything as bad as Voldemort." Ginny said, trying to reassure her, but she gripped her arms tighter about Lily, who was still fast asleep through all of this. She really hoped it wouldn't come down to a third war. Hadn't the wizarding world learned anything from the first two?

"I can't believe it!" Luna exclaimed as she held up the newspaper. She and Lily were sitting at the Ravenclaw table, having returned to Hogwarts with their cousins that afternoon once everyone had had a chance to see Ginny. She slammed the Evening Prophet down upon the table. "Nine Muggles were killed in an explosion outside the entrance to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The explosion was the result of a duel taking place between four wizards, three against one. It is suspected that the un-named man fighting against the other three unknown wizards was attempting to stop them. After the explosion, the three wizards fled while the man whom had been dueling them was taken into St. Mungo's for treatment of his injuries. He refused to be healed, I kid you not, dear readers, jumped out of a window, and disapparated before the Healers could even get his identity. If anyone has any information on the incident, please contact the Ministry of Magic immediately."

"Nine Muggles killed?" Lily asked, grabbing for the paper to be sure Luna had said what she thought she had heard. She looked at it and found the words unchanging before her eyes, and she looked back up in shock. "That's terrible! Why d'you think they were dueling anyways?"

"Dunno." Luna shrugged, tucking the paper into her bag and looking around at the Slytherin table. "I can say though…" She dropped her voice. "That it's probably go something to do with that lot's parents. Who else would want to harm innocent Muggles?"

"I hope they catch them." Lily said, ponderingly.

"They will. We've got the best trained Aurors, and the Order of the Pheonix."

"What's the Order of the Pheonix?"

"It's an organization for fighting against dark wizards. It's got Aurors in it as well, but most of my family is in it was well. It was started back during the first war." Lily and Luna sat silently, chewing at their food for a few minutes.

"Hey…" Lily turned her head, looking up at Xavier who was staring pointedly at his feet. "I'm sorry about your aunt. I read about it in the paper this morning. How's she doing?"

"She's much better now that she's awake." Lily said while Luna grimaced at her. Apparently giving Xavier information on Ginny was to be considered against the rules. "The Healers are going to fix her up."

"I'm glad to hear that." Xavier nodded, his cheeks pink as they always were when he talked to anyone. "Um… I was wondering if maybe… you'd like a game of Gobstones later?"

"Sure." Lily nodded, grinning up at him. She and Xavier had been playing Gobstones a few times a week. She rather liked the game and it seemed to bring Xavier out of the little world he lived in.

"Alright." Xavier nodded and left the Great Hall rather quickly, his older brothers' eyes on his back.

"You'd better stay clear of him, Carpenter." Lily looked up again as a rather sinister voice spoke into her ear and she found Bellatrix Zabini glaring down at her. "It could be dangerous for your health."

"The only thing dangerous for my health is your breath, Zabini. Honestly, don't you ever brush?" Lily wrinkled up her nose, fanning the air in front of it as though she had smelt something disgusting.

"Haha, Carpenter. I'm serious. If you value your life, you'll stay away from Xavier Malfoy. He's too distinguished for the likes of you."

"Oh, what're you going to do? Engorgio me to death? Too bad that spell doesn't work on people, and besides, you haven't managed to master it yet."

"I know things, Carpenter! I know things about Malfoy that would make you…" Zabini scrunched her nose up, her hands clasped into tight fists.

"Make me what?"

"Make you rue the day you ever spoke to him."

"Hmm... nope. Still not convinced." Lily shook her head, rolling her eyes and turning her back to Zabini, ignoring her now.

"His family may have disowned him, but he's still a Malfoy." Zabini said scathingly. "You just wait Carpenter. Oh you just wait. I'll… I…"

"You'll what?"

"I'll challenge you to a duel! No... I do challenge you to a duel!"

"Where and when?" Lily said, rising out of her seat. She was a bit shorter than the other girl, but they got right up into eachother's faces, glaring bullets at the other.

"Tonight. After everyone's in bed. In the empty classroom on the second floor."

"You're on." Lily nodded, her hand already gripping tightly at her wand inside of her robes.

"Good. I'll see you tonight then." Zabini spat at her and Lily rubbed it off against her sleeve, sticking her tongue out at Zabini's retreating back.

"Seriously Lily? You're going to risk getting in trouble over that piece of dogpoop?"

"I suppose I'll have to won't I? And if I beat her, maybe she'll shut up and leave us alone."

"I am so proud of you!" Luna squealed, hugging onto her. "Oh, this is going to be excellent. We're totally going to knock her socks off, the little git."

* * *

Gah! I'm sorry this one is like, half the size of one of the normal chapters, but my plotline kind of got squeegied a bit, as in, there are holes I have to fill without rushing everything. But it'll pick up next chapter, I hope. If you're wondering, we're currently in the middle of November. Lemme know what you think!

Love always,

S.Q.O.


	14. Duel

Disc-...same stuff.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Fourteen: Duel_

"I can't believe you're actually going to duel her, Lily! This is going to be so cool!" Luna said, enraptured as the two girls sat beside the fireplace in the common room, whispering to one another so as not to be heard by those around them. It was already eleven thirty and they were just waiting for the last of the straggling older students to head up to bed before they were to retrieve Lily's invisibility cloak and head off to meet up with Zabini for the duel.

"You know, you don't have to come. We could get into serious trouble if we get caught."

"And give up a chance to see you whip the floor with that nightmare? Not a chance! Besides, you need a second." Luna explained simply, as though this decided everything. "You know, someone to back you up if you die. Not that you'll be able to do more than shoot sparks at one another mostly."

"Yeah… but I've been reading up." Lily held up her book, Standard Book of Spells Grade One. "There are some really good things in here that I could use, if I can manage to get them right. There isn't really any time to be practicing."

"That's all right. You're excellent at spells! You always get the right on the first try in Charms class." Luna said simply. "How many of those stickers on the dorm door are yours huh?"

"I suppose." Lily nodded, smiling as her cheeks pinked a little. "But then, it might just be my wand. It's got two cores… so maybe it's easier to do spells?"

"Nah, my mum always says that the wand is only as good as the wizard wielding it for the most part. Something about being equals with one another from the beginning. Flitwick adores you." Luna prodded her and nodded to the back of the girl heading up the girls' stairs. "I think that's it." The pair peered around the room. It was empty except for them.

Lily slipped up the stairs to the first year girls' dorm and popped her trunk open as quietly as possible. She dug through her things until she found the silvery cloak towards the bottom, where she had stashed it to keep it safest. She folded it and tucked it up under her robes, hugging it tightly to her chest as she left the room silently, but not before making sure Quaffle was sound asleep in her bed. She returned to Luna who nodded that the coast was clear. Lily pulled the invisibility cloak out and tugged it up under herself and then tossed the remaining fabric up and over her best friend. Putting a finger to her lips to remind Luna to be as quiet as possible, the two girls slipped out of the common room.

The corridors were much darker than they usually were, even at night. It seemed that someone had gone around and put out all but every third lantern along the walls. It was kind of creepy, but the two girls stayed close to one another, walking along as slowly and as silently as they possibly could. Coming to the corner of the corridor, they paused and peer around it before they continued on their way. They slipped down stairs and hallways without a single hitch. They had just made it down to the third floor when they heard the hissing noise. Spinning around, Lily and Luna spotted her. Mrs. Norris.

The cat was batting at the air, as though she could sense someone there, but couldn't quite find them… She must be able to smell them! Lily looked at Luna who nodded her head to the closest stairs and they started down them. The cat followed them to the second floor.

"What're we going to do?" Lily whispered. "We can't very well lead her straight to the duel! She'll get Filch faster than ever once we take off the cloak."

"A kick to the head should do it…" Luna said, menacingly.

"She'll still get Filch if we do that." Lily argued, looking down at the dislikable cat. She loved animals, but that thing was made of pure evil.

"What if we lock her in the broom cupboard?"

"No… We don't want her to die from starvation. No matter how much we hate her." Lily sighed and looked around. Pondering it over for a few more moments, she finally dug into her pocket and pulled out one of the treacle tarts she usually kept in there. She crouched down, pulling Luna with her and handing her the tart. "You throw better than I do."

Luna nodded and let her hand appear out from under the hem of the cloak. Before Mrs. Norris could attack it, she tossed the tart down the hallway as far as she could. The cat, smelling the food, took off after it. "Awesome! Let's go."

They sprinted the rest of the way down the hallway, not wanting to risk Mrs. Norris following after them again. Upon arriving at the door of the classroom they were supposed to meet Zabini in, they peeked in. The Slytherin girl was already in there, sitting on one of the desks that had been pushed up against the back wall with one of her friends. Lily nodded to Luna and they pulled off the cloak. Lily handed it to Luna who shoved it up her robes and they entered the room, closing the door behind themselves.

"Well, well, well. Decided to finally show up then, have you?" Zabini slipped off of the desk, pulling her wand out of her pocket. "I was beginning to wonder if you were too much of a chicken to come, Carpenter."

"Not a chance, Zabini." Lily drew her own wand, gripping it tightly in her hand as she stepped forward. "How do you want to do this?"

"Hmm… well, I suppose we could Gelite Legisa!" Zabini cried, sending a blast of purple at Lily. Lily dodged it, ducking down and to the side, almost unable to believe she'd started the duel without terms first, but then, she was a Slytherin.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Zabini rolled out of the way of Lily's spell and the two girls glared daggers at one another for a moment. "Gelite Filanges!"

"Alohomora!"

Lily laughed, nearly falling over with mirth. "That's… not a hex!" She wiped tears away from her eyes as Zabini took her moment of unconcentration to shoot another hex at her. She rolled out of the way, raising her wand once again. "Petrificus Totalus!" She was beginning to wonder why they were dueling. They hardly knew any hexes as it was. So far, they'd only really learned spells to block, or that could only be used upon objects. But then, she had agreed to this.

"Gelite Legisa!" Zabini's spell shot over Lily and nearly hit Luna who jumped out of the way. Feeling angry that Zabini had deliberately aimed at her best friend with the Jelly-legs Jinx, Lily tossed her wand to Luna and ran at Zabini, tackling her down into the desks instead. Until they learned how to better duel, fists would do her just fine.

"You don't aim at someone who isn't in the duel!"

"Get off of me you freak!" Zabini tried to roll out from under Lily and managed to her a punch in, whacking hard at Lily's cheek. The two girls rolled about on the floor, wrestling and hitting, kicking. Things got even more heated as Zabini grabbed hold of Lily's hair and pulled. Lily screamed and grabbed Zabini's hair back, tugging it angrily.

"Ooo! Ickle firsties out and bed AND fighting!" Zabini and Lily stopped rolling around, looking up at Peeves the Poltergeist who had just floated into the room. "Ooo… should tell, I should."

"No, Peeves… don't…" Luna started but Peeves opened his mouth wide and started screaming, floating out of the room and up the hallway.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! ICKLE FIRSTIES IN THE OLD MUGGLE STUDIES ROOM! STUDENTS OUT OF BEEEEEEEEEEEEED! NAUGHTY NAUGHTY FIRSTIES!"

The four girls in the room bolted. They shot down the hallway towards the stair cases, the Slytherins pushing past Luna and Lily. Luna tugged out the invisibility cloak when the Slytherins got ahead of them and threw it over herself and Lily. They slowed up their pace, breathing hard and walking slowly now. As long as they couldn't be seen, they should be safe, right?

"Zabini! Nott! What are you doing out of bed at this hour?" The voice of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Hanild reached their ears. Luna and Lily peeked around the corner. Hanild had both Slytherins by the ears and was leading them down the stairs. "Oh, you just wait until your Head of House finds out that you were out of bed."

"But Professor…" Zabini whined, trying to free her ear. "Carpenter and Weasley were out of bed too! They tricked us!"

"Then where are they?"

"Right down that way!" Hanild turned his head and peered down the hallway where Luna and Lily would have been blatantly obvious if not for the cloak.

"There's no one there. Now move on girls, we've got to go wake your Head of House from her beauty sleep. She's going to be incredibly displeased with you."

Luna and Lily stayed where they were until the others were out of sight and then they collapsed onto the floor in laughter, rolling around, not even noticing the cloak falling off of them.

"That… was… great!" Lily said, sitting up and rubbing the tears of delight from her eyes. "Did you see their faces?"

"Yes! They looked like… like…" Luna imitated something that looked like the cross between a fish out of water and a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Lily burst out into a fresh set of giggles.

"And what exactly, is so very funny girls?" Lily gulped, looking at Luna's whose eyes had gone incredibly wide. She turned her head and found that Professor Hanild had returned and was looking down at them tiredly. He reached down and pulled them both up off of the floor by their ears. Lily thought he was going to pull her's off it hurt so bad. She grabbed the cloak from beneath her, hugging it to her chest as the pair of them were dragged down the hallway. "I swear, I'm getting too old for this. You should be in bed! Were you responsible for the shiner on Zabini's eye?"

"Um…"

"Never mind. I'm taking you straight to Flitwick, and then I can go back to bed. You had better hope he's in a better mood than I am." Hanild led the pair of them all the way up to the seventh floor and for a moment, Lily thought they were going to get lucky. Maybe he was just going to bring them back to their common room instead? But then he stopped at a door a few feet away from the foot of the spiraling stairs that led up to the common room.

"What… is it?" Flitwick stated rather grumpily as he threw his door open. He wore a pair of blue pajamas and fuzzy slippers under his white dressing gown. He looked up at Hanild, Luna, and Lily and gave a great heaving sigh. "Thank you, Jameston. I'll take it from here. Girls…" Flitwick motioned for them to enter the room, and Lily was almost relieved to do so, rubbing at her ear. "Sit."

Luna and Lily took seats in front of Flitwick's desk and he moved around to the back, climbing on top of the high stool behind his desk, making him look taller than he really was. He looked down at the two girls with disappointment. "Exactly what were you doing out of bed at this hour?"

"Er…" Lily looked at Luna who shrugged, obviously lacking for an excuse as well. "We were… um..."

"It is against the rules for you to be wandering the castle this late at night. It is dangerous. If you were to get hurt, and no one could find you, what then?" Flitwick asked, shaking his head at him. "We have rules in place to keep you safe!"

"Zabini threatened to hurt Lily's puffskein if we didn't come and duel her!" Luna burst out suddenly, her voice full of desperation. Lily looked at her and then at Flitwick.

"Is this true, Miss Carpenter?"

"I… er… yes." Lily lied, biting her lip. Zabini had never threatened to do anything to Quaffle, but if they were lucky, they would be able to talk themselves out of trouble…

"Then why did you not come to me so I could help you?" Flitwick asked, straitening his night cap.

"She said… if we told… she'd make it worse." Lily provided as Luna seemed to blank completely. "We're sorry Professor."

"Well, no matter the cause, you should not have been out of bed. So, I'm going to have to give you both detention for next Saturday. You're lucky I don't take any points. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Luna nodded with a sigh.

"Good. Now get to bed." Lily and Luna left the office quickly, dashing up the spiral stairs to the common room. They didn't speak until they got back inside and were started up the girls' stairs.

"Well, it's just detention. At least we didn't lose points!" Luna said cheerfully. "And detention is nothing… Harry and Fred are always in detention for something or other. At least we didn't blow up any toilets."

The next morning, Lily and Luna made their way down to the Great Hall feeling quite pleased with themselves. As far as they were concerned, the duel had been won when they hadn't been the first to be caught out of bed."Look!"

Lily's eyes went to the great Slytherin hourglass full of emeralds in the Entrance Hall, showing how many points they had. She grinned. "They're a hundred points less than last night. Professor Morrigan must have been super angry to be woken up that late to take that many points from her own house. And Flitwick didn't even bother taking any from us." The two girls high fived and made their way into the Great Hall for breakfast.

Zabini and her friend were sitting close together, the rest of their house giving them a wide birth. Apparently losing a hundred points in one night was enough to make your house not like you as much as you thought they did. Lily grinned, noting that Zabini was sporting quite the shiner on her left eye. Yep, she'd done that. And it felt good. Because Zabini was such a bully.

"Oi! Carpenter!" Lily looked around. Xavier waved at her from his normal spot towards the end of the table. She wandered over to him and took a seat. He grinned at her brightly. "There's a rumor going around that you did that. Well?" He pointed in Zabini's direction and Lily nodded. "Awesome! I mean, you should really treat a pureblood with more respect, but that one acts like her father is the Minister of Magic when he's down in magical maintenance."

"I don't care what her blood status or who her father is." Lily shook her head at him. "She deserved it."

"Yeah she did. But…"

"Blood is nothing. You should know that by now." Luna said, sitting down next to Lily and looking across the table at Xavier. "You wouldn't be such a jerk if you learnt that."

"Yeah… I know." Xavier frowned and Lily was just about to ask where he had finally gotten this realization from when he tugged a letter out of his pocket. "My… my parents wrote me. To remind me that I'm not welcome at home for the winter holidays. So I suppose I'll be signing the list of the people staying here."

"Or you could come to the Burrow with us." Lily suggested. She didn't know what made her do it, probably the dejected look on Xavier's face. He just seemed so lost, and the idea of him being stuck here at the school while she and Luna got to go back to a family that loved them dearly made her kind of sad. They may have taken to playing Gobstones together, but that didn't mean they were exactly friends. More like tolerant acquaintances. Half of the time Xavier was alright, but then there was the times he went Malfoy-esque on her and started talking about blood status. They would get into arguments about pure-blooded versus everyone else and he would retreat up to his dorm in anger.

"I… I dunno." Xavier shook his head, setting his letter down on the table. "That would probably make them even angrier… and the Weasleys and Malfoys don't exactly get along. I wouldn't be welcome."

"You're right about that." Luna said a bit scathingly, but Lily pushed her slightly and she shut her mouth.

"Look… I know it'd be awkward, but it'd be better than being stuck here all by yourself." Lily said, reaching across the table and picking up the letter. She took her wand out of her pocket and pressed the tip of it to the parchment. "Incendio." The parchment lit ablaze with flame and the three first years watched as it turned black, ash falling onto the table. Lily set it down on a plate as it got to close to her finger and they watched it burn until it ran out of paper and went out. "Your parents obviously don't care about you. Gramma probably wouldn't mind…"

"She'd love you." Luna groaned, nodding and prodding at the ashes in the plate with the tip of her finger. She rubbed the soot against the table, drawing little stick figures. "A kid disowned by his family. She'd feel sorry enough for you to take you in."

"I'll write her." Lily dug into her pocket for some parchment and a quill. "And if she says it's ok, then you'll come right?"

Xavier seemed to be pondering it over, torn. He looked between his brothers at the Slytherin table and then back at Lily who raised a questioning eyebrow at him. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I'll go if she says it's all right. But… what about the rest of your family?" His eyes flitted towards the Gryffindor table where the rest of the Weasleys sat enjoying their breakfast.

"They'll get over it. We may be pricks, but we're more accepting than your family. You'd probably get our approval before you'll get theirs." Luna said kindly and Lily smiled at her, glad to see that she was at least making an effort to be friends with Xavier. "Besides, no one's going to argue with Gramma. She's quite intimidating for a little old witch."

"Ok." Xavier laughed, the first time Lily had seen him do so. "Ok, I'll come. So long as I'm allowed." Lily grinned and began writing.

_Dear Gramma,_

_How are you? How's Ginny? I have a very important question to ask you, so I'll just ask it. My friend_ (she felt it necessary to use the word because 'acquaintance' wouldn't have sounded right) _Xavier Malfoy's parents have disowned him because he's in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin. So, instead of him having to stay at school all by himself over Christmas, I was wondering if maybe he could come to the Burrow? I know he's a Malfoy, but he's not nearly as bad as the rest of his family. After all, we can't choose who our family is, nor can we all come from nice ones. Please think about it._

_Love,_

_Your Lily._

Lily handed the note to Luna and she looked it over. She gave a nod of approval. "She'll say yes. That bit about not being able to pick your family will get her for sure. And it's you. She rarely ever says no to you."

"Good. That's what I was aiming for." Lily blew on the parchment to help the ink dry and then rolled it up. "C'mon."

The three Ravenclaws rose from the table and left the Great Hall, heading up the stairs to the seventh floor. They made their way up to the Owlery, which was covered in hay and looked as though it had recently been cleaned. Lily picked out the kindest looking school owl she could find and attached the letter to its leg. "Take this to Molly Weasley at the Burrow, ok?"

The owl gave Lily a peck on the finger, as though to reassure her that it knew exactly where it was going and then took off, flying through one of the glassless windows of the Owlery. The kids watched it go until it was no more than a speck in the white cloudy sky.

* * *

Argh, this one is also a bit shorter than I would have liked it, but I hope its content makes up for that as well as the fact that I've written over 50,000 words and fourteen chapters in just ten days. It would probably be longer, but the headache fairies have caught me. So, please enjoy and lemme know what you thought! Spur me on! I fully intend to begin writing the next one in a few hours.

Love y'all,

S.Q.O.


	15. Detention

Disclaimer: All settings and most characters belong to JK. Rowling.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Fifteen: Detention_

"Are you sure he said eight o'clock?" Luna asked, looking at her watch which currently read that it was eight fifteen. They were to be serving their detention tonight by meeting Professor Morrigan, the Slytherin Head of House, down in the dungeons. The only problem so far was that they were already there, and there was no Professor. Lily dug into her pocket and checked the note Professor Flitwick had sent them that morning at breakfast.

"Yeah. I'm sure, it says ri-"

"Good evening, girls." Morrigan entered the room, closely followed by Zabini and her friend, Francine Nott. The four first year girls glared at one other while the Professor walked over to the broom closet beside her desk and pulled out a mop, bucket, broom, and sponges. "Tonight, you are all going to be cleaning both this classroom, and the one next door, no magic. I want everything spotless. Get the undersides of the desks and chairs, dust the shelves, and make sure you get the grime off of the floors. You can use the water and soap from the sink. Zabini, Carpenter, you stay here. Nott, Weasley, follow me. You're going to be doing the other room." Luna gave Lily sour faced look as she and Nott were led out of the room. Lily sighed, going for the bucket and carrying it over to the sink to fill it with warm water. Zabini, however, sat down on one of the stools, and leaned back in it, balancing on one of the tables while she put her feet up on the one in front of her.

"What d'you think you're doing? We have to clean." Lily said scathingly as she poured some soap into the bottom of the bucket and turned on the faucet to fill it. She watched as the suds began to form.

"Cleaning is for servants, Mudbloods, and blood traitors." Zabini sneered, checking out the nails on her left hand. She raised it into the air, eyeing the green polish she'd put on them. "My mother and father would be very displeased if they were to discover that their beloved and only daughter was forced to clean."

"Too bad for them then." Lily shoved a sponge into the full bucket and lifted it out. Without bothering to let it drip or wringing it out, she threw it as hard as she could. It splattered against Zabini's face, causing her to scream in rage.

"Carpenter! Oh you're going to regret that!" Zabini slipped off of her stool and picked up the sponge. She shot it back at Lily who was ready for it and reached out both hands, catching it before it could hit her. She shoved it back into the bucket. Zabini ran to the desk and grabbed the mop. She went to the other sink at the opposite side of the classroom, pushed the plug in and turned on the faucet. She poured some soap into it and shoved the mop into the filling sink as Lily chucked another sponge at her.

Zabini ran at Lily now, wet mop in hands. Lily went to dodge but was a bit too late. Zabini whacked her over the head with the wet mop and Lily yelped as the soap hit her eyes. She rubbed her sleeve on them, trying to get them out and hurled the sponge in her other hand in the direction she thought Zabini was in. Neither girl noticed that the sink on the other side of the room was over flowing now, spilling out onto the stone floor. They were too busy fighting.

Lily grabbed hold of the handle on the mop as soon as she could see again, and she and Zabini did a weird sort of dance about the room, both trying to pry the mop from the other. Zabini slammed Lily into the teacher's desk, and Lily grabbed for the broom. She lifted it high in the air to block an attack of the mop's handle and so began the strange cleaning instrument sword fight.

They knocked over stools with clattering thuds and slipped and slid on the wet floor, both of their robes soaked through with the water they were supposed to be cleaning with. By the time their racket was heard, the dungeon was in an even worse state than it had been before they had started.

"What the bloody hell do you two think you're doing in here!" Morrigan was back, and she looked pissed to be having to speak to them again. Her eyes looked from the overflowing sink to the two girls, their 'weapons' pressed against together, their hair dripping, both of them baring their teeth at the other, and then to the flooded floor.

"She started it, Professor! She hit me with a sponge!" Zabini dropped the mop, feinting terror. "I was only protecting myself…" She sniffled and broke down in fake sobs, running to the teacher and hiding behind her. "She wouldn't start cleaning, so I asked her nicely to please help me but then she got mad and attacked me saying that she was too good to clean."

"That's not true at all! You were the on refusing to clean!" Lily said, outraged. She dropped the broom to the floor, her hands balled up into angry firsts. "She wasn't going to help me, so yes, I did throw a sponge at her. But then she attacked me with the mop."

"She's lyyyyying P-professor!" Zabini wailed. "She shoved my head in the sink and tried to drown me!"

"I did no such thing!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"No, I did not!"

"Shut it the both of you!" Morrigan said, obviously just as angry as they were. She marched over to the sink and shut it off, grimacing as water poured over her shoes and soaked through the hem of her robes. "You both will clean up this mess. Zabini, this side. Carpenter, that side. And I don't want to hear another word about who did or didn't do what. Protego!" She raised her wand and said the spell, placing a shield between the pair of them, cutting the room in half with an invisible barrier, Lily on one side, Zabini on the other.

"But Professor! That could take all night!" Zabini whined, her fake crying having stopped with the look of horror on her face.

"You should have thought about that before you started fighting then. Weasley and Nott are already halfway done with their room. Now get to work. I'll be back in an hour to check on your progress. Just be glad I don't give you another detention." With that said, Morrigan left the room, slamming the door behind her angrily. The two first years glowered at one another. Lily took up the mop and wrung it out over the sink on her side of the room. It would take forever to try and clean up the water on the floor, but at least it wasn't spreading anymore.

It took the pair of them four hours to finish cleaning the room. By the time they were done, Lily's hands hurt and her fingers were puckered from over exposure to the water that had gotten everywhere. Morrigan came to check on them at two in the morning. She looked over every little surface and once she had deemed the room clean enough, sent them off to bed.

Lily groaned as she flopped down next to Quaffle in her bed. She snuggled him close as he woke and lapped at her nose. He'd gotten better at learning that he couldn't follow her absolutely everywhere and that she would always come back to him, even if it wasn't when he wanted her to.

"What the hell happened?" Luna asked through the darkness and Lily peered through her curtains to find the pair of blue eyes shining back at her in the starlight from above. "It sounded like you guys were destroying the place instead of cleaning it, but I figured you'd have been back hours ago."

"We got in a fight before we could even start cleaning, because Zabini wouldn't clean. And then she tried to tell Morrigan that I had refused to clean and attacked her and that I tried to drown her."

"Wow. What a little git!" Luna said, sounding quite appalled.

"Well, Morrigan didn't seem to believe her. But we had to clean up the mess we made and the mess we were supposed to have cleaned before that, only Morrigan put up a shield charm so we couldn't fight anymore. I'm really tired."

"Sounds it. Good night, Lily." But Lily didn't respond with anything but a tiny, stuffy nosed snore.

….

"Xavier!" Lily called, peering down an aisle in the library. The first year boy was known for hiding among the shelves, sitting down in whatever section he was reading a book from. She peered around the stacks of books, looking for the red tinted dark chestnut haired boy. She found him in the last section she checked… the Muggle Studies related books. Confused, she headed down between the tall shelves and sat down on the floor next to him, peering over the edge of the book he was reading. He seemed to be lost in it and jumped a little when he noticed her, his brown eyes looking up at her, startled.

"Oh, hi…" He closed the book, his finger marking the page he was on, obviously thinking she was going to leave him to his reading once she'd said what she'd wanted. Lily gazed down at the book, and was quite surprised to find it was called Muggles and Machines: How They get Along Without Magic. Xavier saw her looking and coughed, setting the book on his other side, out of her sight. "Just um… trying to understand your family a bit more."

"But my family aren't Muggles."

"But they love Muggles. So that's something."

"Anyway… Gramma said you can come. So long as you behave yourself. You know, no using the term 'Mudblood' or talking about how pure is better than everything else."

"No Malfoyisms. Got it." Xavier smiled, looking quite pleased that he'd been accepted to come to the Burrow. "My family is going to be sooooo angry with me for going. But I've been thinking a lot about it."

"And?"

"And they're not worth it. I mean, they may be my family, but I've always been the least loved. They always pick Xander over me and Xinnius, just because he's the oldest and the most 'precious'. I don't even know much of my parents, just what I've seen of them at dinner and holidays, but other than that, they had us raised by house elves from the time we were born. So I figure, no matter how hard I try, they're never going to take me back, so what's the point in trying?" Xavier tilted his head back, resting it on the shelf behind him. He lifted the book back into his lap and slipped it open again. "And this is actually quite interesting. All these… cogs and gears. Electricity."

"I knew you were put in Ravenclaw for a reason. You're brilliantly smart." Lily beamed, glad he had finally come to this conclusion about his family. All of those hours spent alone in his dorm or the library seemed to have done him some good, given him time to think about what he wanted as opposed to doing what his family wanted. She figured it'd take him some time to unlearn some of the things he had been taught, such as purebloodedness crap, but at least it seemed he was going to try. "Oh yes. Granddad is particularly fond of those types of things. Wait until you read about batteries."

"I already have. They're absolutely extraordinary. I would love to see some of them in action." Xavier said excitedly, flipping the pages of the book to the whole chapter on batteries. "So many sizes and charges!"

"Granddad has a whole great big collection of batteries he would probably love to show you when you come. He's got everything from teeny tiny hearing aid batteries to a huge car battery."

"Oh! That sounds excellent! Would he really show them to me?"

"Of course! He'd love to have someone around who shares his interest in them. Gramma thinks he's mental for it, but she still adores him anyway. And he has other Muggle things as well, a whole shed full where he tinkers on them when Gramma isn't paying attention."

"Ooooooh!" Xavier's face was lit up with delight at the very idea of a trove of Muggle inventions, things he had only ever read about. Lily thought he looked very much like a Muggle child had they been shown magic. "When does break start again?"

"A few weeks still. We've got to take our midterms first." Lily laughed at his excitement and took the book from him. "That's also why I'm here. I was wondering if you'd like to come study with me and Luna? We can help each other… since we all are better in different classes. She's great at Transfiguration. I'm great at Charms. And you're great at Potions, which we could really use some help studying for. It's a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be."

"Well, you've just got to learn to understand the concepts of it. After that, it's just like cooking."

"You cook?"

"Did you not hear me when I said I was raised mostly by house elves? It's also similar to that Muggle subject… what was it called? Um… sci-something."

"Science?"

"Yes! Science. Oh, I took a book out about that… all those different things they do. Like mixing chemicals together… sort of like potions… It's splendid. Those Muggles are really onto some neat stuff, you know?" Lily laughed and put a hand on his shoulder as they got up off the floor and headed over to Madame Pince so Xavier could check out his book on machines.

"I think you were definitely not born to be a Malfoy, Muggle-lover. You should have been born a Weasley."

"Honestly? I'm beginning to think you might be right." The pair left the library, heading up to the Ravenclaw Common room to meet Luna who was sitting on one of the couches, surrounded by books and parchment. She looked up as they entered and threw her arms into the air in absolute relief.

"The calvary is here!"

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, the entire school was much quieter than it normally was. The library was overflowing with students from all houses who actually cared about their midterms, while those who couldn't care less were constantly being shushed. Lily, Luna, and Xavier had formed a little study group with some of the other first years who were best in other classes. It had been decided they would study one subject a night with the person who understood the class best answering any questions they could. They're recruited Cammie to help them with History of Magic, because she was the only one who listed to Binns full heartedly and actually took notes. A boy called Davis Hammald helped them all with their Defense Against the Dark Arts work and Eden had taken over the when it came to Herbology.

"Hey, did you guys hear that they've got a lead on that guy they were looking for? You know, the one who's the only wizarding witness for what happened outside of St. Mungo's?" Davis asked one night while they took a break from the books to roast marshmallows in the fire. "According to the prophet, his appearance keeps changing, but he pops up wherever those people… the ones they think caused the explosion… show up. Prophet says they're a gang that seems to be targeting Muggles mostly and that they wear Muggle clothes to blend in, so nobody knows they're there until it's too late. \"

"Yeah, we saw." Luna said, nodded and looking worried. In the course of the past few weeks, there had been more explosions and hazards in the Muggle world. All of the bridges over one specific river had collapsed. A hospital had been collapsed, with everyone trapped inside of it. Muggles were found dead in alleyways with the obvious signs of dark magic. When one read about it in the paper though, it was fairly easy to forget and focus on other things, especially when you were so far away from all of the mayhem. You knew it was happening, but it wasn't happening to you. "It's awful, but the Aurors will do their best to capture them. If only they could also catch that bloke… he seems to know where they'll be before they strike. It's kind of crap that he hasn't gone to the ministry to let them know."

"Or so they tell us." Lily said simply, picking at her burnt marshmallow. She'd accidentally set it on fire while distracted by the conversation, but the insides were sure to be gooey and delicious anyway. "Maybe they can only tell us so much, so that's why they haven't said if they have information."

"That would make sense, I suppose." Xavier nodded, leaning over and taking Lily's marshmallow off of her stick for her and setting it down on her plate. He shoved his fingers into his mouth, wincing. "That was a lot hotter than I was expecting it to be."

"I was going to let it cool a bit." Lily laughed, stabbing a new marshmallow onto her stick and holding it out over the fire. "Though I suppose we should get back to studying soon. Herbology test is tomorrow."

"Ugh…" Davis groaned and sat back in his chair, shoving an uncooked marshmallow into his mouth in protest. He wasn't much of one for studying, they'd found out.

"Don't complain. We've only got tomorrow, and then we'll be off until after New Year's." Xavier said, munching at his own marshmallow.

"How about, whenever we answer a question right, we get a marshmallow?" Eden suggested, taking the package off of the table and opening the Herbology back up. "That way it's at least a bit more fun for you guys."

"Alright then." Davis nodded and they got back to their studying.

"Quills down." Professor Longbottom said at the end of the two hour midterm. He'd gotten the first years after they'd had their Transfiguration exam, so they seemed to be pretty zonked out by the time the Herbology midterm was over. "I'm sure you all did just fine. Now, get out of here. Enjoy your vacation."

Screaming in pure joy, the Ravenclaws bolted from the greenhouse, their hands covered in dirt and ink from their half paper, half hands on midterm. They frolicked through the snow, throwing it up into the air in joy, unable to contain the relief that came from finishing half a school year. Lily fell and rolled onto her back, stretching her arms and legs out to make a snow angel while catching the flakes that had been falling all day on her outstretched tongue. "We're freeee! Oof!"

Luna had fallen on Lily and laughing, the pair of them erupted into a war of snowy mess, trying to bury each other. Xavier joined them after watching for a few moments, dumping an armful of snow over both their heads before running away laughing. They looked at each other and then chased after him, the snow thick and hard to get through. They played until the sky began to get dark. Wet, red faced, and bright eyed, they headed back into the castle for dinner, ignoring the cried of Filch following after them with a mop and shouting about messes. He'd been so sour towards everyone lately that it'd gotten old and was no longer the least bit intimidating. He couldn't give them detention, just tell on them, but there were so many students tracking snow inside lately that it would have been ridiculous to give them all detentions.

"Xavier." The three Ravenclaws turned around to find Xavier's second older brother, Xinnius coming towards them. He glared down at his little brother and the two girls. "Run along, this is a family matter."

"They don't have to go anywhere. They're my friends." Xavier glared right back up at Xinnius, his pointed chin jutted out in defiance.

"Whatever. Listen, rumor has it… that you're thinking of going to the Weasley's hovel for Christmas."

"The Burrow is not a hovel!" Luna exclaimed angrily as she and Lily, both red faced now, took steps closer, flanking Xavier.

"Xavier, I must remind you, that this is a very bad idea if you wish to redeem yourself to Mother and Father." Xinnius ignored Luna, reaching down and grabbing hold of the front of his brother's robes.

"Bollocks to Mother and Father then." Xavier spat at his older brother, squirming until he wretched himself out of his grasp. "I'm going to the Burrow and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me!"

Disgust on his face, Xinnius shoved Xavier away from him and Lily and Luna caught him before he could stagger to the floor. "Then on your head be it. You are a disgrace to the name of Malfoy and wizard kind."

"It's more of a disgrace to be a Malfoy than it would ever be to be a Weasley! At least they're kind!" But Xinnius wasn't listening any longer. He had turned his back on his little brother and strode away, up the marble staircase.

"What a prat." Lily glared angrily at the older Malfoy boy's back as she and Luna moved to steady Xavier on his feet.

"I guess that's it then." He said after a moment, looking slightly torn. Lily could understand why. He'd lost his family over a personal choice to treat people better, something she guessed had to do with his new interest in the way Muggles lived.

"I'm proud of you."

"Me too." Luna nodded, punching Xavier in the arm. "If you weren't a Ravenclaw, I'd say you'd have made a good Gryffindor. You've got some serious guts." Xavier tinged pink and brushed them off after a minute.

"C'mon. Let's go eat. All of this craziness has me starving."

"Just wait until you try Gramma's food. Hogwarts is excellent, but they don't have anything on Molly Weasley." Luna laughed, leading them in to sit down at the Ravenclaw table. "Have you two finished packing the things you want to take home with you? I suppose we can leave most of our school things here… After all, we don't have any homework."

"Yeah. I'm just going to bring the necessities and a few library books that I've taken out. I asked Madam Pince if it was ok for them to leave the school so long as I paid for them if anything happens to them and she said it was fine. She didn't seem to happy about it though." Xavier said, piling some potatoes onto his plate before offering the bowl to Lily. They both rather adored mashed potatoes. She took the bowl and spoon a big helping onto her plate as well.

"I'm going to finish tonight. I want to take a few books with me as well though." Lily pondered. She had to bring her rag doll of course. And the unicorn Harry and Nevvy had made her for her birthday. "I'm not sure which books I'd like to bring though, probably Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them… those are my favorite, I think."

"You'll probably get a book for Christmas from my mum too." Luna said, matter-of-factly. "She always gives us books, hats and mittens. And Gramma always makes us sweaters with the first letter of our names on them. I have one for every year I've been alive and every single one of them is dark blue. They're super warm though, so you never get cold under your cloak."

"My mother can't even cook, let alone knit." Xavier said, slightly jealously.

"That's alright. You're better than the rest of the Malfoys anyway." Lily grinned.

* * *

Badabing! There you have it and this one is much nicer and longer than the previous two. ^_^ It's a bit scattered in the way of time jumping, but that's ok, because it should make sense anyway. Let me know what you think, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from you! I've also posted up a new one shot about Ginny. So, if you want something to do while you're waiting for the next chapter, you can always go read that one.

Love always,

S.Q.O.


	16. Christmas

Disclaimer: You know the drill by now.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Sixteen: Christmas_

"But what if I accidentally say something and they decide I'm not welcome after all?" Xavier tugged at his cloak, attempting to straighten it out. They were on the train, just the three of them sharing a compartment. Lily sighed and rolled her eyes, she and Luna had been taking turns answering Xavier's worried questions for nearly the entire ride back to the station on the Hogwarts Express.

"Just think before you speak." Luna provided, pulling on her winter jacket as they came into the station. "I'm still curious as to how you don't have a single outfit of Muggle clothes. How do you get anywhere without looking strange to the Muggles around you?"

"Normally my parents just take me and my brothers by side along apparation to wherever we need to go. I've never really been in the Muggle world… so it's never been a problem before." Xavier frowned, looking anxiously down at his black boot clad feet. He normally wore a pair of fairly shiny black shoes that Luna and Lily's family would have normally reserved solely for special occasions, but they were his version of sneakers. Apparently he had an even better, shinier pair at home.

"Oh Merlin. You're in for a treat then!" Lily beamed, nodded happily. "Just wait until your first car ride?"

"I read about cars in that book! You mean we get to ride in one? Fascinating!"

"Yeah. But until we get there, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb." Luna shook her head, eyeing Xavier's cloak. His moment of happiness ended and he seemed to deflate even further than he had been.

"Then we will too." Lily stated firmly, pulling her old red and gold cloak out of her bag. She hadn't wanted to leave it, or the invisibility cloak at the school. They were much too precious, a link to her parents. She pulled the cloak on over her red dress and winter jacket, pushing the gold fastenings together. She looked at Luna who shook her head.

"I didn't bring my cloak."

"Well then, we'll stick out like sore thumbs without you." Lily tugged her bag on over her shoulders as the train came to a halt at last. The sky outside was dark, but the platform was lit up brightly, shining down on the parents whom had come to retrieve their children for the holidays. The three Ravenclaws gathered their things and headed down the corridor, climbing off of the train at the first door they came to.

The Weasleys were all bunched together, keeping close and warm in the wind that was whipping about the platform. Lily and Luna found each other's hands and smiling, headed straight for them. Lily turned her head to make sure Xavier was still with them, but frowned, stopping midstep as she found him paused a few feet behind them, his gaze drifted to the other side of the platform. Lily followed it and her frown got bigger as she spotted the Xander and Xinnius Malfoy greeting what had to be their parents. He took a step towards them, his face full of longing and pain. Lily tugged at Luna's hand and she turned around as well.

"Xavier." Lily called, trying to get his attention. Her voice drew the attention of the older blonde man who was down the platform a ways. His pointed chin hinted at being Xavier's father, but his third son had gotten his wife's darker hair. He grimaced and said something to his wife before striding across the platform towards the first years.

"Xavier." The man spoke as he drew closer, coming to a stop in front of his little boy, over whom he towered. Lily had thought Xavier was tall for his age, but he looked smaller than ever at that moment.

"Father?"

"I am very disappointed with you. I have been writing your Headmistress to try and get her to allow you to be resorted, but she has refused. And now, this? This is absolutely the worst thing you could be doing, going with… _those people_. But, your mother and I are willing… to give you another chance, if you come with us right now." Xavier seemed taken aback, his brown eyes wide with shock. He looked from his father to Lily, who held out her hand to him.

Xavier grabbed hold of Lily's bare hand with his custom fitted leather gloved one, clutching it so tightly she thought he might break her fingers. "I… No thank you, Father. I have made my decision… I don't want to be in a family that discriminates against people just because of their birth."

"Now listen here, you rotten little…" Draco Malfoy raised his father's old cane, holding it high above his son's head. It whooshed downwards and slapped, not onto Xavier, but into a large, long fingered hand. Ron pulled the cane out of its shocked owner's hand and tossed it aside.

"Not on my watch, Malfoy."

"Mind your own business, Weasley." Malfoy spat at him, and before Ron could stop him, his hand met Xavier's cheek, slapping the boy so hard he fell to the ground before Lily could steady him. She looked down at her friend. There were tears on his face and a great red mark on his cheek. He lifted his other hand to it in shock. Malfoy raised his hand again, but Ron grabbed hold of him this time.

"You'd hit your own son, Malfoy?"

"I'm his parent! I'll do as I wish." Malfoy struggled to wrench himself free from Ron's grasp, but the latter was a fully trained Auror after all. He was quite strong. Ron pushed Malfoy away, letting him land hard on the wooden platform with a thump. Malfoy couldn't do anything, not with all of the witnesses around, watching him. So he just picked himself up, grabbed his cane, and hurried back to his family. He grabbed hold of his wife and two older sons and spun on the spot.

"Shush now dear, it's alright." Hermione, who had been watching the whole thing, was helping Xavier to his feet. She brushed back his tears with a motherly thumb and then ran a comforting hand through his hair. "Let me see your cheek." She gripped his chin gently, turning his face and lifting her wand, aiming it at the bruise that had begun to form. "Evanesco."

The redness faded, and Xavier gave a small sniffle as Hermione straightened herself. Without a word, he shot forward, his arms wrapping tightly about her middle, his face buried against her chest in the softness of her fleecey winter jacket. He gripped the back of her jacket so tightly his knuckles were turning white, his body shaking.

Hermione looked down at him in shock, but wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. She gave a slight grunt as she lifted him up into her arms, holding him firmly as his arms moved to hug about her neck, burying his face there now, his legs wrapping around her like a small child would. Hermione gave Ron a worried look as she rocked the boy and he shrugged, not really knowing what to say about it.

"Poor fellow is starved for affection." Mrs. Weasley stated simply, stepping forward to peer at Xavier's face over Hermione's shoulder. She reached out a hand, and ran it through his hair. "You'll get plenty of love now, dear."

"Gramma!" Lily exclaimed brightly, shooting forward to hug her.

At the sound of his friend's voice, Xavier's face turned bright red and he coughed, loosening his grip on Hermione and allowing himself to slide back down to the ground. He straightened his cloak sheepishly and rubbed his wet face dry. Composed, he lifted his right hand, offering it to Hermione. "Xavier Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

"Pleasure to meet you, Xavier." Hermione just about laughed at his change in attitude and took his hand. "I'm Hermione Weasley, and this is my husband, Ron. We're Harry and Luna's parents."

"And Nevvy's!" Luna said from her father's back, obviously bent on not walking to the car when she could have a right. "Dad, that was… AWESOME. You should have punched him!"

"And Nevvy's. But she's just two… so she's back at the Burrow with Ginny at the moment. We'd best get on."

The Weasleys made their way out through the barrier and headed through the fairly empty station to the parking lot where they clambered into their cars. Luna went with her parents and older brother, Lily and Xavier went with Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys. Lily watched Xavier's face as the car started moving and smiled at the sheer surprise and joy he had, but he managed to keep himself cool.

"So, erm, this is a car then?"

"Yep." Lily laughed, pointing out the window. "And that's Muggle London."

"Splendid."

"Haven't you ever been to London before, Xavier?" Mrs. Weasley asked, turning around in her seat.

"Just the wizarding portions, ma'am." Xavier frowned, his eyes glued to the window until they hit the highway and he turned to face forward again. "So… Lily tells me you have quite the collection of batteries, sir?"

"Oh yes!" Mr. Weasley bounced excitedly in his seat while Mrs. Weasley groaned.

"Arthur, the road."

"Of course dear…" Mr. Weasley straightened himself out, but Lily could see him glancing back at them every now and then in the rear view mirror. "I have teeny tiny round button sized batteries, cylinder ones that come in all different sizes, those are the most common, and I have a couple big block like square ones. Those go in a car and a motorbike. Do you… do you like batteries, Xavier?"

"They intrigue me, sir. May I see your collection sometime?"

"By golly, I'll show you when we get there!" Mr. Weasley hit the gas a little harder and Lily laughed.

"Told ya he'd be super excited." Lily hugged Quaffle who gave a little bounce of happiness.

The drive to the Burrow didn't take very long and soon they were traipsing through the kitchen door and overflowing into the living room. It was a Christmas tradition that the entire family spend the night. It may have gotten squishily crowded, but they managed fine. It was worth it to make Mrs. Weasley go into a state of bliss, having all of her children home for the holiday.

"Alright, everyone get your things to your rooms." Mrs. Weasley called over the chatter. "Dominique, Arthur, and Marcus, up to George's old room. Fred, Harry, and Xavier, you're in Ron's. Caprice, Molly, Luna, and Lily will be in Lily's room. Bill and Fleur in his old room. Ron and Hermione in the nursery with Nevvy. Percy and Wisteria in Percy's. George and Angelina will be in Charlie's room. Charlie, you-"

"Will be in my down here with my baby sister." Charlie laughed, flopping down on the arm of the couch by Ginny's head. She was still without the use of her legs, so it was easier for her to just sleep downstairs on the couch.

Lily and Luna followed their older cousins up to Ginny's old bedroom. The room had been filled with two camp beds, no space available for a third if they wanted to be able to actually open the door. Caprice set her things down on one of them and Molly took the other. Lily set Quaffle down on her bed and looked at Luna who shrugged. "Guess we're sharing."

"So, I guess this is your room now, huh?" Molly asked, looking around. "You should really redo the decorations."

"I like the decorations. Besides, it's Ginny's not-"

"Gramma said 'Lily's room'. That means it's yours."

"I doubt _Aunt…_" Caprice enunciated the word, looking pointed at Lily because she hadn't used it. "Ginny would mind if you redecorated. She's got plenty to decorate in her flat."

"I guess." Lily shrugged and pushed her school bag into the closet, only taking a moment to take out her ragdoll and unicorn and set them on the bed with Quaffle. She picked up her puffskein and hugged him tightly.

"C'mon, Lily. Let's go help decorate the tree." Luna said, sticking her tongue out at her older cousins and dragging Lily back downstairs to the living room. "It's a good thing we're only sharing a room for tonight. I don't think I'd be able to stand being in the same room as Caprice for a week and a half."

"Me neither." Lily nodded in agreement, hopping the last couple of steps and heading into the living room where Mrs. Weasley was placing fairies onto the tree. They fluttered, giggling noisily. Mr. Weasley had gotten himself tangled up in the tinsel and was attempting to free himself. Lily grabbed one end and Luna grabbed the other and together they pulled. Mr. Weasley spun around and the tinsel fell to the floor.

"Girls, hand me that string of cranberries… yes, that one." Luna lifted up the stringed red berries and helped her grandmother wrap them around the tree.

"If you're going to be a Weasley, you've got to be freckled!" Fred shouted, chasing Xavier down the stairs and around Mr. Weasley's favorite chair. He was brandishing an orange marker and by the looks of it, he'd already caught the younger boy and given him a few 'freckles' that looked more like streaks than spots.

"That's enough, Fred!" Angelina exclaimed, laughing at her son's antics. "I think you probably have enough freckles for three Weasleys."

"Xavier, you said you'd like to see my batteries?" Mr. Weasley stepped out of the tinsel excitedly.

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, then, let's go to the shed. I keep them all there." Xavier chased after him, nearly tripping over his boots in his excitement to get to the batteries.

"There now. We just need one of the boys to get our angel on the top." Mrs. Weasley beamed, admiring the tree. "Charlie, could you…"

"Sure Mum." Charlie grinned and grabbed up the flailing garden gnome in a tutu and covered in sparkles. He tied it up to the top of the tree and they all stood back to admire their finished work. "Sure is gorgeous."

"Yes." Mrs. Weasley nodded, flicking her wand. The radio dial spun and began to play an older sounding song. "Ooooh, Celestina Warbeck is on. I just adore her." Mrs. Weasley sighed happily and sank into her chair. She tapped her wand against her knitting needles and they floated up into the air beside her, getting to work on something red.

"Oh, you 'ave turned on your music." Fleur said, sounding a little bit disappointed as she came in from the kitchen. She gave the radio a death glare and Lily looked questioningly at Luna who giggled and whispered back at her.

"Tante Fleur haaates Celestina Warbeck. But it's Gramma's tradition."

"Oooh, come and stir my cauldron..." Mrs. Weasley sang to herself, her eyes closed as she rocked in her chair.

"I like it." Lily grinned, rising from the floor where she and Luna had taken up residence. She grabbed her cousin's hands and dragged her to her feet, spinning around. She and Luna danced about the room together in a sort of awkward two stepped waltz. "I'll boil ya up some hot strong loooooooove to keep you warm toniiiiight."

Luna placed both hands to her chest and fell to her knees, belting up at Lily. "Oh! My poooor heart! Where has it gone? It's leeeeeft me foooor a spell." Lily laughed and fell down beside her, laying flat on her back.

"And now you've torn it quite apart. I'll thaaaaank yooooou…. Toooo giiiiive… baaaack…."

"My heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-aaaaart!" The two girls finished together, breaking down into an absolute fit of giggles, unable to help themselves. The idea of love and hearts was still quite silly to them at their age. They'd get over it in a year or two, but for now, they were still just eleven after all.

"Alright girls, that's enough." Hermione laughed, reaching down to pull Luna off of the floor. "You'd best get up to bed now. It's getting late."

"Aw, but Mum…"

"Remember to brush your teeth. Go on." Lily and Luna sighed, bidding the adults a good night with hugs and kisses and trekking their way up the stairs to the first landing. They brushed their teeth and changed into their night clothes before entering the already dark little bedroom.

Lily climbed into bed with Quaffle, hugging him to her as Luna joined them, the small bed just big enough for the both of them. They snuggled up, each taking one of the pillows that were set in the middle of the bed. Lily yawned and closed her eyes… gosh… bed felt good…

The door creaked and a little bit of the light from the hallway shone into the girls' bedroom. "Lily?" A voice whispered. "Lily?" Lily groaned and sat up to find Xavier standing over the bed. He was biting his lip, looking nervous. "I uh… Harry and Fred sort of… kicked me out. Something about having to plot something or other without anyone else knowing about it. I already tried the other boys' room, but the door was locked. And it seems as if this room is pretty full up as well."

"Hmm…" Lily rubbed at her eyes. She prodded Luna who groaned and rolled over, sitting up as well. "Budge up."

"mmmm 'kay." Luna shifted herself to the edge of the bed, one arm dangling off of it. She buried her head in her pillow and smiled, apparently still comfy and oblivious. Lily shifted herself, squishing up beside Luna and patting the remaining space beside her, it wasn't much, but at least it was a place. Xavier yawned, climbing down into the little bed beside her. They pulled the covers up and he rolled over to face the window, not seeming to mind that they were packed like sardines.

"Thanks."

"You lot are going to be in so much trouble!" Caprice's shrill voice hit Lily's ears and she sat up, bleary eyed, her hair an absolute mess. "Boys and girls aren't supposed to share rooms. I'm telling!" And before anyone could stop her, the eldest Weasley grandchild had left the room.

Lily kicked Xavier in the back. "Get up. Caprice is going to get us in trouble because you're in here." Xavier rolled over and looked up at her tiredly. He pushed himself up and was about to climb out of bed when Caprice returned with Charlie.

"Seeeeee Oncle! I told you!"

"Xavier, what are you doing in here?" Charlie asked, sitting down on the foot of the bed, frowning. Caprice was right… they were going to get in trouble, or at least, Lily felt like they were if Charlie of all people was frowning at them. He was too fun loving to frown usually. "It's not proper for boys and girls to be sharing bedrooms unless they're married. That's just… one of our rules.

"I'm sorry, sir." Xavier hung his head and climbed fully out of the bed. "Only, Harry and Fred kicked me out and the other boys wouldn't let me in, so I didn't know where else to go, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir. I'm Uncle Charlie." Charlie laughed now, his frown gone. "I'll talk to Harry and Fred, they shouldn't have done that. Now, I suppose that we're all awake…" He looked at the nightgown clad Caprice mock-accusingly. "You'll want to come downstairs and see what's under the tree."

"Preeessssents!" Luna threw back the covers and bolted from the bedroom, still in her floral print pajamas. Lily grabbed up the still sleeping Quaffle and made to go after her, her own long white nightgown skimming the floor. Xavier followed, having to pull the slightly too big pants of his green satin pajamas up as he went.

The tree was still lit up with fairies, only they were asleep now, shining softly in the dim light of the sitting room. There was an overflow of colorful packages beneath the tree, all of them in separate stacks, names labeling them. It would have looked like the family was quite rich, or selfish, if one hadn't known that there were twenty one people in the house, nine of them children.

"Lily, those are your's. And those are Xavier's." Luna said, already on the floor and tearing at the pretty papered packages in the stack in front of her.

"I… I get presents too?" Xavier said, sounding quite startled. He hadn't been expecting his parents to send him anything with the way things were, but as he approached, the packages all resembled the ones his friends were opening instead of the classic silver Malfoy wrappings.

"'course! You're one of us now, you know." Luna laughed, taking up one of his parcels and tossing it at him. Lily sat down and lifted the topmost package from her little pile.

"Happy Christmas! Oh, wait for me! I want to see you open them!" Mrs. Weasley cried, coming into the room in her dressing gown and night cap. "That's why we put them downstairs this year instead of on the ends of your beds." She sat down in her chair and looked down at the three on the floor. "Well, go on then."

Lily tore open the lumpy package she was holding and laughed. She held out the bottle-green sweater, a dark blue L on the front of it. She tugged it on over her head as Luna unwrapped her own Weasley sweater, the same colors as Lily's only vice versa. "Looks like you've got one as well." Lily said, pointing to the topmost package on the stack Xavier hadn't touched yet. He bent down and pulled the lumpy package open, revealing a bright red sweater, a black X on the front of it. His face lit up with color.

"Tolda you're one of us. Now it's just official. Put it on!" Luna said, grabbing the sweater and tugging it over Xavier's head. He backed away from her and did the rest for himself, slipping her arms up into the sleeves and looking down at his front in absolute shock. He bypassed the rest of his presents, stepping over them to give Mrs. Weasley a hug.

Lily undid the rest of her presents which included a box of sugar quills from Luna, a book called 'Great Puffskeins in History' from Hermione, a set of Gobstones from Xavier, and a poster of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team signed by all of the members. She ran at Ginny who was propped up on the couch and hugged her tightly. "And don't forget those tickets I got you for your birthday. The match is on the twenty seventh."

"Are you going to be able to play?"

"Yep. I've been practicing and it's not so hard. I just have to land a bit slower than the rest of the team so I don't do a faceplant. And… I've got another surprise for you. You'll get to meet the team after the match. I know you saw them at the hospital, but I'd like to introduce you properly."

"Ooooh… Ginny you're the best!" Lily hopped up and down in her excitement. "Can Luna and Xavier come as well?"

"Of course."

"Guys, we're gonna meet the Harpies!"

"Awesome!" Luna beamed, tearing open another package.

"Isn't that great, Xavier?... Xavier?" They boy's eyes were angled down at his hand, his mouth agape. Coming out of his stupor, he looked up, and then held up his hand. He was gripping something small and black in it.

"Batteries! TWO of them! And this thing! I think it's a Muggle machine." He held up a small, thin flashlight.

"That's a Muggle lantern." Mr. Weasley stated, coming into the room fully dressed. "The batteries go inside of it, and they give it the elekcity it needs to make light."

"Woah." Xavier pulled at the flashlight, trying to find the place where the batteries went into it. Mr. Weasley got down on his knees to help him.

The rest of the family joined them slowly, first the other kids and then the adults. By the time Mrs. Weasley got up to make breakfast, the room was covered in colorful paper which Nevvy seemed to find more exciting than the doll she had gotten. She was tossing it up into the air and laughing as it fell down on her slowly. Everyone wore a Weasley sweater of a different color chosen for them specifically by Mrs. Weasley, and no two were the same.

"Alright, I want a family photo." Mr. Weasley called, opening the kitchen door. He'd been snapping pictures of them all morning, none of them organized. "Everyone out into the garden." There was some groaning, but they got out into the garden, lining themselves up by age and family. Ginny rolled out in her wheelchair, levitating herself over the front step. Lily climbed into her lap and she hugged her tight as Mr. Weasley floated his camera in the air and ran to stand beside Mrs. Weasley. He'd just gotten into place when the camera clicked and flashed. "Fantastic! I'll get these developed right away and send you all copies." The family trudged back inside for a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and eggnog.

* * *

Hehe, I hope you enjoyed it! It's not quite as good as it could be, but I did my best. Lemme know what you think!

With love,

S.Q.O.


	17. Quidditch

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Seventeen: Quidditch_

Boxing Day found Lily and Xavier out in the back garden building a snow man. The rest of the family had gone back to their homes the evening before, so the house was much less crowded with just the two eleven year olds, Ginny, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the latter of which was currently watching the children from the kitchen window. She held a cup of tea in her hands and was waiting for the grilled cheese sandwiches on the stove to be done cooking before she called them inside for dinner.

"Mum?" Ginny rolled herself awkwardly into the kitchen. The narrow passage between it and the living room had her scratching up the walls with the wheelchair so far, but that was repairable. Mrs. Weasley spun around to look at her daughter and smiled.

"Dinner is almost ready. They get along quite splendidly, don't they?"

"Yeah. They do. He's nothing like his father." Ginny nodded in agreement and moved so she was by the table. Mrs. Weasley set a sandwich in front of her. She went to the door and opened it, calling out into the garden. "Dinner time dears!"

Lily and Xavier came running into the house, their faces red. They wore the hats and mittens Hermione had knitted for them for Christmas and tugged them off, making a mess of the floor.

"Gramma, did you see our snowman?"

"Yes, he's lovely, though I do think you've had enough of the outdoors for one day. Come and eat." Lily sat down at the table, her socked toes skimming the floor. She was quite small for her age. She spooned the tomato soup into her mouth.

"I can't watch for the match tomorrow. It's going to be fantastic. Who are you playing against, Ginny?"

"The Ballycastle Bats. They're fairly good, but we're going to mutilate them."

"Yeah!" Lily cheered, raising her spoon in approval. She bit into her sandwich.

"Lily, d'you want a game of Gobstones after dinner?" Xavier asked, eating away at his own lunch happily.

"Oh, I'd love one." Lily nodded enthusiastically. She was eager to break in her new set, having not gotten to it yesterday. The house had been so full of people that it'd been impossible to find a space clear enough to set up a game. She began eating faster.

"You can play one game. But then I want both of you washed and in bed. You're going to have to be up early if you want to get to the match on time."

"How about… two games of Gobstones?" Lily asked, making big eyes at Mrs. Weasley, the brown and green orbs fluttering.

"Only if the first one doesn't take very long. But you had both be showered and in bed by nine. You're going to a Quidditch match and meeting the team, I will not have you looking like ragamuffins."

"Yes, Gramma." Lily sighed and ate her food faster, prodding Xavier so he'd do the same and they could get to their game. They hurried through their dinner and then ran upstairs to get their Gobstones, Mrs. Weasley calling after them to not make too big of a mess.

The next morning dawned bright, the sun shining down and sparkling on the white snow that surrounded the Burrow. Lily rolled over in her bed, sitting up as the sun hit her face and she smiled, realizing what day it was. She was up and out of bed and down the stairs to the kitchen for breakfast before she'd get dressed.

"I was just about to come wake you." Mrs. Weasley smiled, placing the plate of scrambled eggs and cheese down in front of Lily's usual spot at the table. The little girl hopped into her chair and began devouring her breakfast.

"I was too excited to sleep any longer. I missed the first school match because Ginny was in the hospital. Where is she anyway?"

"She had to leave last night so they could get in a little bit of practice before the match. But she'll meet you after the match."

"Ok." Lily spooned the last of her breakfast into her mouth just as Xavier came down the stairs, clad in a pair of black jeans and his Weasley sweater. Lily jumped out of her chair and dashed passed him as he muttered a quite groggy good morning. She climbed up the stairs to her bedroom and tugged open the closet.

A new dark green dress with a bronze talon on the front hung there, pure Holyhead Harpies colors and symbol. She just about squealed with delight, before frowning. She wanted to have the talon showing, but she also didn't want to get cold… After a few minutes, she pulled her sweater on first and then her dress, so that only the sleeves of her sweater were showing beneath it. Satisfied, she tugged on her red sparkling cloak, leaving the fastenings open so her dress was still showing.

"Lily dear, let me do up your hair. I want you to look your best." Mrs. Weasley said, pushing the door open. Lily sat on her bed and Mrs. Weasley twirled her hair up with her wand, each lock falling down as a separate spiraling ringlet. She pulled it back with a bronze colored hair band and smiled. "There we go, perfect. You look positively angelic, which is how I want you to behave today, understood?"

"Yes, Gramma."

"Good. Now hurry up and get your boots on. Ron and Hermione will be picking you two up in just a few minutes and then you'll be taking a Portkey to the match.

"What about you?" Lily asked, tiling her head slightly to the side, curious. "Aren't you coming to the match as well?"

"I'm not much of one for Quidditch so I'm going to stay here and watch Nevvy." Mrs. Weasley patted her hair back, straightening it out just a tad bit more before looking quite satisfied. "But we'll be listening to it on the radio to keep an eye on the score."

"Mum!" Ron's voice came from downstairs and Mrs. Weasley hopped up off the bed.

"Best get going dear." She bent down and kissed Lily's cheek. "Be a good girl."

Lily and Mrs. Weasley headed back downstairs to meet up with Ron, Hermione, Luna, Harry, and Nevvy. Ron handed his youngest daughter to his mother who tickled the toddler into submission.

"Are you excited?" Hermione asked kindly, bending slightly to get herself eye to eye with Xavier.

"Yes ma'am." He nodded, grinning brightly. "I prefer Puddlemere United. They're one of the oldest teams you know. But I do like the Harpies as well, though I've never been to one of their matches."

"Puddlemere's alright, but the Chudley Cannons are the best." Luna said as she hugged Lily. She looked her up and down and undid the front of her cloak to reveal a dress exactly like Lily's. "You got a dress too huh?"

"The Cannons haven't won a game in over thirty years!"

"Not since March first of nineteen eighty." Ron said absentmindedly. "Anyway, we need to be going. We've got a portkey to catch out of the garden in three minutes. If we miss it, no match."

Lily dashed out of the door, not wanting to risk something so awful as missing the match just because they missed the portkey. She'd never taken one before, but she knew all about them… somehow. She wasn't sure where she had learned about the things she knew, she just knew them. She looked around the yard curiously, searching for a piece of garbage. She spotted it… an old trash can lid sitting up in the snow drifts. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Hermione smiled and went to pick up the portkey. She held the lid out to them all and they all grabbed hold of it with a hand, so as better to travel with. A moment later, the portkey shone blue, and Lily felt something grip her about the waist, tugging them all through the world. She banged against Luna and Xavier as they traveled, her eyes shut tight against the harsh wind that was blowing against them.

It was only a matter of seconds later that they reached their destination, the portkey dropping them. Lily fell into a heap with her friends, the snow softening their landing. She laughed, sitting up dizzily. "That was fun!"

"It usually is." Luna nodded, brushing the snow off of her tights and taking Lily's hand.

"This way." Ron waved them along, down the hill they had landed upon. They trekked their way down it, slipping and sliding a bit on the icy ground. They were seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, the world around them vast. The land met the sky, never ending. After the mountains of Hogwarts, Lily felt a bit nauseous so out in the open.

They traveled a little ways before the stadium came into view. It was large, similar to the one at Hogwarts, only instead of house colors, it was decorated completely with green and bronze… the Harpies' home stadium. Upon sighting it, Lily broke into an excited run. Luna took off after her quickly followed by Xavier and then Harry, all of them much to overcome to walk the rest of the way.

"Hurry up!" Harry called back at his parents and the adults chased after them, not stopping until they reached the gate of the stadium. Two large wizards stood there, flanking the large doors and holding long metal stick type things as well as their wands.

"Tickets please." The man on the right said and Hermione dug into her beaded bag. She pulled out six tickets and handed them to the man.

"It's good to see you again, Ralleh."

"You too, Weasleys. I see you've brought company along this time." Ralleh ripped the tickets, handing the large halves to Hermione who pocketed them. He eyed Lily and Xavier curiously.

"Yes, these are our niece and nephew. How is your family, Ralleh? I heard something about twins?"

"You heard correct." Ralleh beamed, digging into his pocket and pulling out a photo. He handed it to Hermione who smiled, holding it out for Ron to look at as well.

"They look like the absolutely perfect little babies, Ralleh. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Ralleh pocketed his picture in the front of his robes, giving it a pat next to his heart. "I expect Miss Weasley is awaiting your arrival, but you know the deal. Can't let anyone in until we scan them with the Probity Probes."

"As you should. We don't want anything bad ruining the match just because people can be too trustworthy." Hermione nodded, holding her arms out. Ralleh scanned her and then the children, and finally Ron.

"You're all set to head in Weasleys. Enjoy the match." Ralleh smiled at them at last and pushed the door open to reveal a large room.

"This way." Ron motioned, pointing to some stairs. They clambered up them until they reached the very top and came out a door. Lily gasped looking down at the magnificent pitch. It was all snowy, but still grand "We're up in the Harpies' family box."

They went higher, walking up green carpeted stairs past a lot of people until they made it to a large boxed in section of seats right in the middle at the top of the stadium. They all took seats, Lily between her two best friends. "This is so exciting, just look at this place!"

"I know, isn't it great?" Luna laughed, pointing over to the scoreboard that was flashing advertisements. "That's where they'll do instant replays of most of the goals, and have the scores. We're on the Harpies side of the stadium. The Bats fans will be on the other. They used to let us all just mix up together, but there were too many fights, so they decided it was better to split us up."

"What about where the two crowds meet?"

"They have people stationed at the sides. So they can intervene if things get out of hand."

"Souvenirs! Get you souvenirs here!" Lily turned her head to see a man walking up the stairs with a floating cart behind him. She looked up at Ron and Hermione eagerly, her eyes wide with the excitement of it all.

"Oh, go on then. Grab some omnioculars." The four kids bolted from their seats and crossed the box and went down the stairs a bit to where the man was. They each bought a pair of strange looking binoculars which where the omnioculars Ron had mentioned. Lily got herself a Harpies pennant and scarf, Luna a hat, and Xavier got a scarf as well. Harry was still deciding when the three first years hurried back to their seats, but he soon returned with a walking Ginny figurine to 'help inspire her to use her legs again'.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen." A voice boomed from somewhere. Lily adjusted her omnioculars and looked around the stadium. She found the man responsible for the voice a little ways across the stadium, but still in the Harpies half. He was a portly fellow with very little hair and a dark green cloak. "Welcome to the seventh game of the season, the Holyhead Harpies versus the Ballycastle Bats!" The stadium cheered, whooping as the excitement for the match to begin mounted. "It is my pleasure, to give you your very own, Holyhead Harpies!"

Seven woman in dark green Quidditch robes entered the stadium from one of the lower doors, walking out onto the pitch, the very last of them in a wheelchair with flaming red hair. "Keeper, Olivia Govine! Beaters Gwen Klanzt and Tricia Galinger! Chasers Captain Gylia Govvan, Julie Gotsea, and Giovanie Francs! And let's give it up for her return after a near deathly fall, Seeker Ginevra Weasley!" The green and bronze clad half of the crowd roared, Lily jumping up and down and screaming. She clapped her hands together, unable to calm herself, nor needing to.

"And now, for the Ballycastle Bats! Keeper Guy Livinski! Beaters Henri Ilnogin and Lillian Motov! Chasers Farren Folly, Yuki Smith, and Wyatt Mercy! And Seeker, Captain Ryan Perscintsi!" The crowd of black and scarlet across the stadium burst into applause and shouting for their team. Some of the green clad fans booed, but Lily clapped as well. She really wanted the Harpies to win, but if they didn't, it'd be ok. "Players, into position!"

Lily zoomed her omnioculars in on Ginny and watched as she lifted herself out of her wheelchair with her arms. She laid herself over her broom and her teammates helped her move her legs into a flying position and strap her feet down to her broom's footholds. She wrapped the attached to her broom around herself on her own. The others mounted their brooms and the referee stepped into the middle of the fourteen players. He mounted his broom, holding the Quaffle in one hand and bringing his whistle to his mouth with the other. The Chasers got ready… TWEEEET! The referee threw the Quaffle up into the air and the players took off, Ginny pushing off hard with her arms instead of her legs and sitting up on her broom.

"Go Ginny!" Lily screamed through her cupped hands, clapping hard and bouncing up and down in her seat.

"And it's Smith with the Quaffle!... Interception by Govvan! Pass to Gotsea… Francs, and back to Gotsea and Govvan… Gotsea… She shoots… and scoooores! Harpies leave, ten to zero."

The game continued, Lily watching with the utmost attention, her eyes following the Quaffle as they Chasers passed it faster than she would have ever believed imaginable. But then, this was professional Quidditch and not just school Quidditch. She kept a look out on Ginny as well, who was soaring high over all of the other players, watching for the Golden Snitch. The match continued on for another hour or so, nothing interesting really happening except for a Bludger knocking into the Bats' Keeper, but he shook it off.

"Gotsea intercepted by Folly! Smith! Mercy! Smith! Nice save by Harpies' Keeper Govine! Govvan! And ohhhh! Bludger nearly got Mercy but Beater Motov redirects it! And it seems Weasley has spotted something! Is it the Snitch?" Everyone's eyes shot upwards, watching as Ginny shot downwards in a fast dive, her hair resembling the flame of a burning candle as the wind whipped through it. The Bats' Seeker, Perscintsi chased after her and the two nearly collided. Ginny pulled up and out of her dive, lifting her hand high into the air, waving something golden. "Weasley's caught the Snitch! One hundred and fifty points to the Harpies, making the score five seventy to four fourty, Harpies! Our girls have done it again!"

Lily and Luna screamed, hugging each other as they jumped up and down, dancing in a circle at the team's victory. The Harpies broke apart and flew over the green portion of the crowd, reaching their hands down to high five their fans and doing little stunts. Ginny swooped over her family's heads, bopping them on the heads as she passed by. She did a U-turn and hovered above them. "Hey Lils, wanna be my legs?"

"Yeah!" Lily's strange eyes widened excitedly. Ginny laughed and hovered her broom as low over the box as she could and Lily climbed up onto her seat. Ginny grabbed her hand and helped hoist her onto the broom in front of her. She placed her chin on Lily's shoulder and gripped the broom, her arms on either side of the eleven year old.

"We'll meet you down in the locker room." Ginny spun the broom around and she headed for the edge of the pitch.

"And it looks like Weasley has picked up a stowaway!" The crowd laughed and whooped. Ginny turned the broom, doing a lap around the pitch, nearly taking out the announcer playfully. She and the rest of the Harpies made their way for the ground then, heading for the edge of the pitch where the doors were closest to the locker room.

"Alright, Lily. Brace your legs and catch us as we hit!" Ginny shouted over the wind and Lily straightened out her dangling legs as the ground got closer. Ginny circled her way down, honing in on the snowy ground slowly. Lily's feet hit the snow gently and she planted them, making the broom stop and hover. "Good job! That was perfect." Ginny beamed at her. "Now get off and help me undo these bindings."

Lily climbed off of the broom carefully while Ginny kept it hovering. She undid the straps holding Ginny's feet to the foot rests of the broom and Ginny unbuckled the harness. The referee brought over her wheelchair and she grabbed hold of the top of it, dropping from her broom which landed with a thud on the ground. Lily picked it up. "We get to meet the team now, right?"

"You betcha." Ginny nodded, waving a hand for her to follow. They headed across the rest of the pitch and through the doors to the inside of the stadium. They went down a small hallway and in a bronze colored door embellished with the Harpies' talon. "Here we are!"

"Woah…" Lily felt her heart pounding as she looked up at the Holyhead Harpies.

"It's a pleasure to meet you properly, Lily. I'm Gylia Govvan." The Captain held out her hand and Lily took it with wide eyes. "Ginny's told us so much about you. We're your favorite team, huh?"

"Oh yes!" Lily nodded, shaking other hands and hardly believing that this was really happening. The door opened and Luna and Xavier came in followed by Ron, Hermione, and Harry. The Weasleys had met the team before and were greeted with familiarity. Xavier behaved quite gentlemanly as he was introduced.

They were being shown the locker room and training area… a special place where they could practice throwing, catching, and hitting off of their brooms. There was also a special room for practicing flying in all types of weather. Everything was Harpies colors, dark green and bronze.

"Excuse me!" Ralleh, the man who had been guarding the gate earlier burst in through the door. "We have to evacuate immediately! Out the back door, hurry!" His face was pale with panick and he pushed those closest to him towards the back of the room.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked worriedly. But the explanation came a moment later as an explosion went off just outside of the door. The wall burst open and rubble flew. Hermione took hold of Harry and Xavier's hands, running for the back of the locker room and out of an emergency door. Ron snatched up Luna, grabbed Lily's hand, and started running after his wife as another explosion went off behind them. He was thrown forward, losing his grip on Lily's hand and barely hanging onto his own daughter. Lily tripped as rubble slammed into the back of her head, landing hard on the floor.

"Lily!' Ginny screamed as she was pushed by Gylia for the door, the rest of the team already almost out.

"I've got her! RUN!" Lily felt herself snatched up from behind by someone and she gripped them tightly about the neck as they pulled her hood up and placed a hand on the back of her head. She wrapped her legs about their waist and a male voice spoke into her ear. "Keep your head down and hold on tight, Snidget."

Another explosion came from close by and the man carrying Lily was blasted off of his feet. Lily shut her eyes tight and screamed as a wall of fire came at them. The man forced himself back up and started running again. "Bloody hell." They veered, the sound of rubble falling. Lily opened her eyes to find the door her family had gone out of blocked. She turned her head to watch where they were going… the stadium was falling down all around them. She screamed as the man dodged a falling bit of concrete.

"You can't stop us this time!" A voice shouted and something red shot past them. Lily screamed again and suddenly, there was light up ahead, a hole in the wall. The man jumped through it, slipping and sliding on the slick snow outside. He fell and let go of Lily, getting to his feet and raising his wand.

"Stupefy!" Lily scrambled backwards on her hands, her hood falling back off of her head, her eyes wide as she watched the man battle. He was covered in the dust from the falling building and the soot from the fire the explosions had caused. The stadium had gone up in flames and they were hot… melting the snow at the very edges. "Run, Snidget!"

Lily got to her feet, but was instantly falling back onto her bottom, too dizzy to stand. She reached up a hand to where the back of her head was throbbing and drew it back… it was covered in blood. The man turned his face to look at her, eyes wide with fear. "RUN!" Lily tried to get up again, but fell back once more… she couldn't move. "Stupefy!"

Lily saw men converging on the one who was protecting her. Her eyes watched as his wand moved, noting the movement of the spell. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her own wand, aiming it at one of the men. "Stupefy!" She cried. The jet of red shot out of the end without the least bit of trouble and it slammed into the man's chest. He fell down, landing limp in the snow. One of his fellows screamed in rage that his friend had been stunned.

"You can't escape. We're going to get…"

"Expelliarmus!" The good man shouted and the bad man's wand flew out of his hand. "Stupefy!"

"Ennervate!" Another man had come out of the burning stadium and pointed his wand at his stunned friends. They rose up off of the ground, one still with his wand, the other without. The world was beginning to swim before Lily's eyes. She saw a flash of red hair… and then of a red spell. She lifted her own wand, aiming for one of the bad men the best she could. "St-stupefy…" The spell shot out of her wand… and she blacked out, unable to do anything further.

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Hehehe! Betcha can't wait to see what happens now huh? I really hope you enjoyed that bit, I think this is my favorite chapter yet! Lemme know what you think! I adore hearing from you and I really appreciate those of you who review most of the time.

With love,

S.Q.O.


	18. Flat

Disclaimer: You know the deal.

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Little Lily

_Chapter Eighteen: Flat_

"She's waking up." A voice from above stated as Lily blinked her eyes in the blinding light. She groaned, squinching them shut again. Her head was throbbing and she very much wanted to go back to sleep, but the light was much too bright. Everything was much too bright. She grabbed at the covers of the bed she was in and tugged them up over her head, ignoring the other occupants of the room. "And she's none to pleased about it." The voice laughed, tugging at the covers. "Come on, Lily."

"Too… bright…" Lily whimpered. The light was even shining through the blanket! Oh, to make it stop would be wonderful. That and her horrific headache.

"Your eyes'll adjust." The voice was more familiar now and Lily chanced a peek, blinking as her eyes were assaulted by the evil light once again. Everything was fuzzy for a minute, and then the world cleared. Ginny was sitting on her right with Mrs. Weasley while Luna and Xavier were to her left. Ginny's mouth moved. "We've been so worried about you."

And then it came back to her. The stadium… the explosions… the rocks falling and the fire and all those jets of light… and that man. The one who had carried her to safety… who had told her to run… who had called her 'Snidget'.

"The man…"

"What man, Lily?" Ginny looked confused, placing a cool cloth on her head.

"That man who…" Lily paused, trying to remember again. She could practically feel the hand on the back of her head, pushing her head down… "He carried me… and called me a Snidget."

"Oh, he got hit by a Stunning Spell and the Ministry took him into custody." Ginny sighed, shaking her head. "Though, we don't know any more than that just yet. Ron and Hermione escorted him there, being that they're trained Aurors, even if Hermione hasn't been in the field for a couple of years. But forget about all of that for now. How's your head?"

"Throbby poundy boom boom." Lily sighed, snuggling deeper into the pillow.

"You're due for more potion soon then, don't worry. The Healers have patched you up, you'll be good as new very soon. You got quite the concussion from something or other. Did you really perform a Stunning spell? Ron said he saw you take out one of them men as he was running to help. But they disapparated before he could help catch them."

"You're due for more potion soon then, don't worry. The Healers have patched you up, good as new. You got quite the concussion from something or other. Did you really perform a Stunning spell?"

"Is that what the red sparks were?"

"Yes. That's fairly advanced magic, Lily. Normally you wouldn't learn that until your fourth year. How'd you manage it?"

"I just watched." Lily said, matter-of-factly, turning her head to look at her two best friends. They grinned at her, slightly sooty and scratched, indicating that they hadn't been home since the incident. "You're ok?"

"Duh. Nobody got killed or hurt too badly, don't worry." Luna beamed and bent to hug Lily who winced as her head gave a hard throb, but was otherwise quite pleased. She held onto Luna tightly, just glad they were all ok. "You're the only one who ended up in the hospital."

"Good." Lily nodded happily, burying herself deeper into her pillows once Luna had let her go. A wizard in mint green robes came in, carrying a glass tumbler of some gross looking purple fluid that was quite chunky and bubbling.

"Ah, good. You're awake. Once you've taken this you should feel a lot better. You'll be able to take your daughter home in about an hour, Miss Weasley." The Healer nodded to Ginny and handed the tumbler to Lily who downed it, grimacing at the awful taste. Once the Healer was satisfied, he took the tumbler and left the room. Lily looked at Ginny in confusion.

"But you're not my mom."

"You know that, and I know that, but the Healers wanted more parental background than we have for you, so we had to fib a bit." Ginny said, frowning, her cheeks a bit red. "Just try and call me mum until we get out of here, alright?"

"Ok. Are we going back to the Burrow?"

"Well… you're technically not supposed to Floo or Apparate within forty eight hours of having a concussion… something about the squishing of the skull. And Dad's lent his car to Bill because Caprice wants to learn how to drive, so I figured, you and I can just hang out at my flat for the next couple of days. Luna and Xavier are invited as well."

"Alright!" Lily beamed, nearly punching a fist into the air in her excitement. A whole two days with her favorite people would be a lot of fun. She turned to look at her friends who were keeping fairly quiet, letting them talk. "Whadda ya say?"

"I say it'll be a blast." Luna beamed while Xavier forced a small nod. He seemed quite pale still, staring at Lily with wide dark eyes, but she knew better than to ask him what was up just then. It would be much more appropriate for her to do it in private, or with just her and Luna.

The hour's wait went fairly shortly, the Healer returning about ten minutes before seven. Since the match had taken place that morning and lasted a little into the afternoon, Lily'd been out for no more than a few hours tops. The Healer felt her head and removed the bandages before feeling it again. "You're looking so much better, young lady. Now then… just a few quick questions to make absolutely certain. Do you know your name?"

"Lily Carpenter."

"Good. How about your birth date?"

"August 31st, 2005."

"Which means you are how old?"

"Eleven."

"Awesome! And finally, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ten." Lily laughed as the Healer held up both of his hands. It was obvious that he was holding up all of his fingers.

"Nope. Eight. Thumbs don't count." The Healer smiled at her and wiggled his thumbs at her. "But you pass! You are free to go, m'lady."

Lily climbed out of the bed, still wearing the clothes she'd been in that morning. They were a bit dusty from the incident, but otherwise clean. She and the others left the room and headed down the stairs to the main lobby of St. Mungo's. They pressed through the glass doors and came out on a street outside of what looked to be a rundown little clothing shop. They all looked a bit funny in their cloaks, but at least it was winter, so they blended in fairly well otherwise. Ginny's wheelchair seemed to move quite on its own and it wasn't until they'd gone a full block that Lily realized it had to be enchanted.

"It's just this way. I don't live very far since this is the more prominent wizarding section of London." Ginny explained as they trampled through slush and snow until they reached an iron gate between two tall brick walls that meshed right into the buildings beside them. Ginny looked around before pulling out her wand. She tapped the lock of the gate three times and it swung open, revealing a stone path inside of a small garden that was sparkling with snow. "This is an entirely wizarding complex, so Muggles only see the gate as part of the wall. And it's too high to climb over. Welcome to Topsy-Turvy."

The garden was surrounded by a U shaped building with a long porch on the lowest level. It was about five stories high and made completely out of old gray stone, but it looked quite inviting still. There were people milling about, conversing with one another on the porch. Strangely, the doors and windows seemed to be in the right places, but they were all upside down

"Ginevra!" And older woman in her fifties leaned out of one of the windows on the second story. "Ginevra, I just heard about that terrible chaos at the Harpies' stadium on the wireless. And there's all sorts of rumors flying about that they'll neither confirm nor deny and all that poppy cock. You were there, is it true that they found three dead and fifteen injured? Does your captain have a broken collarbone? And they're saying that they captured someone!"

"Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack, Dotty!" Ginny called back, heading for the other side of the garden. "Come down and have dinner with us and I'll tell you what I can."

"Alright! I'll be over in a jiffy then. I'll bring dessert!"

Ginny laughed and motioned for the three children to follow her. She levitated herself up onto the porch and then rolled past a few front doors until they got to one marked with an upside down seven. She unlocked it and pushed it open, rolling herself inside. Lily, Luna, and Xavier followed after her,

Lily gasped as she felt her feet taken out from under her and yelped in shock. But no sooner had she flipped than she was steady once more. She blinked, not quite sure what had happened. Ginny laughed, looking at all of their faces. "It's called Topsy-Turvy for a reason. Go have a look out a window."

Lily and the other two left the entry way and found themselves in a white carpeted living room. It was simple but pleasant, with a couch, a couple of chairs, and a fireplace. Pictures of Weasleys adorned the walls just about everywhere. Lily pulled back a blue curtain on one of the living room windows and gasped. "The world is upside down!"

"No it isn't. We're upside down." Xavier exclaimed excitedly, peeking out over her shoulder. "That's why everything outside was upside down… so that it'd be right side up when we got inside."

"That's right." Ginny laughed harder and rolled herself into the little kitchen off of the living room. "You lot go get washed up while I start dinner. Mum said she'd bring by some of your things for you and leave them in the spare bedroom. Just through there." She nodded towards a door to the right of the entry way and the three of them made their way into the spare bedroom. It was fairly small, with two little beds and a table between them. Each of their school bags were on one of the beds.

The two girls changed into their clean clothes in the bedroom while Xavier went to the bathroom to change into his. When Lily came out of the bedroom in her favorite red dress and Weasley sweater, she could smell something good coming from the stove. Ginny was stirring something with a spoon, using her wand to do so as she'd have burned herself if she'd gotten to close to the stove in her chair. "It's almost done. Why don't you set the table? Plates are in that cupboard."

Lily nodded and gathered up five people's worth of place settings, putting the plates and silverware down on the table to the side of the kitchen. "Hey Ginny? How come the blood's not rushing into my head?"

"Because, technically speaking, you're right side up. At least, for the flat you are. The zone of gravity is different. There are some of them that go sideways as well, but I thought upside down would be the funniest."

"Oh." Lily laughed, finding it quite neat that one could magic an entire flat to have a different area of gravity. The doorbell rang and she skipped to answer it after Ginny asked her to do so. She tugged it open, finding it quite odd that she was presented with an upside down woman carrying a pie as opposed to a right side up one. The woman stepped into the flat without being asked and Lily watch in amazement as she was flipped from the ceiling to the floor.

"Good evening dear, and who might you be?" The woman smiled.

"Lily Carpenter."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Dotty Hinald, perhaps you know my son? He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts?"

"Oh! Yes." Lily nodded brightly. "He's a very good teacher, we learn a lot."

"Oh, that's good to hear. Oh, now Ginevra dear, tell me everything." She left Lily, moving to help Ginny in the kitchen by taking one of the two pots off of the stove. Lily followed, taking a seat at the table with Luna and Xavier.

"Well, most of the rumors you've been hearing are probably just rumors. As far as I know, nobody was killed and the only serious injury suffered was a concussion on a little girl." Ginny scooped spaghetti onto their plates and then ladled sauce and meatballs on top. She set the pan down on the stove and came to sit with them, passing around the cheese.

"Oh, poor dear. Was she ok?"

Lily giggled and rubbed a hand over the back of her head. It didn't hurt anymore at all. "I'm fine."

Dotty looked slightly taken aback that the girl in question was sitting across from her at the dinner table, but she shook it off, turning her attention back to Ginny. "And the other rumors, Ginevra?"

"They did capture someone, but it wasn't one of the ones responsible for all of these explosions, the ministry is calling them the Bombing Bandits. You know that man that keeps popping up and trying to battle the Bandits?"

"Yes, I heard about him. Some kind of rogue Auror or something. So, it's him they captured?"

"Mhm." Ginny nodded, twirling some spaghetti onto her fork. She ate at it before she spoke again. The three Ravenclaws were listening with rapt attention as well, wanting to know as much information about the incident they'd been part of earlier. "But, as far as I've heard, they haven't identified him. My brother, Ron, is an Auror, so he'll probably tell us as much information as he's allowed to."

"Are they sure he's not one of those awful Bandits?"

"Yes. Otherwise he wouldn't be fighting them all of the time whenever they cause an explosion. And anyway, he saved Lily from the building, so he's good in our books, right guys?" There was a murmuring of agreement.

"Ooooh, what did he look like, Lily dear?' Dotty asked curiously. Lily frowned, her brow furrowing.

"Um… I think he had brown hair… and a short, but big puffy beard. I couldn't really see much with everything falling everywhere." Lily shook her head. It was actually quite fuzzy now that she thought about it, but she figured that must be because she'd gotten it so hard in the back of the head. "He made me keep my head down though, so I couldn't see him much that way either."

"That's alright. It was a pretty trying day." Ginny said reassuringly, scraping the last of her sauce off of her plate with a piece of bread. She gave a wave of her wand and the empty plates flew up into the air and into the sink where they began washing themselves. "How about that pie? I think it's your favorite, Lils."

"Treacle?" Lily asked excitedly as Dotty got a knife to cut the pie up with. She watched as the golden filling appeared and she licked her lips. Ginny handed out smaller plates and Dotty put pieces of pie onto them. Lily dug in, unable to wait. It wasn't quite as good as Mrs. Weasley's, but it was still delicious.

Once the pie was finished, Ginny cleared up the table again and yawned. "You lot should be getting to bed. It's nearly ten already. Would you care for a cup of tea before you head out, Dotty?"

"Oh, no thank you dear. It's about my bedtime as well." Dotty shook her head, rising from the table and covering the pie with a tea towel. "I'll leave this with you, give the kids something to have if they want a midnight snack."

"I'll get the plate back to you tomorrow then." Ginny smiled and saw her out the door. Lily watched as she went from being right side up to upside down again. It was still quite shocking. She closed the door and turned her chair around. "Alright. You girls will be in the little bedroom and Xavier, you'll be out here on the couch. Don't worry…" She laughed at the worried look on Xavier's face. "It's really comfortable. I'll get you some blankets, you get into your pajamas."

Lily and Luna headed into the little bedroom, and pulled on their pajamas before climbing under the covers of the two little beds. Lily sighed. "I miss Quaffle. He's probably panicked by now."

"Gramma'll take care of him."

"Or she'll be so overly frazzled with him trying to get up her nose, she'll bring him to you." Mrs. Weasley pushed through the bedroom door carrying the custard colored furball. She set him down on Lily's bed.

"Gramma!" Lily sat up, hugging her tightly as Quaffle licked at her face. She let go and picked him up, giving him a cuddle.

"How are you girls feeling? I was so worried when I heard about those awful explosions. I almost came up to the hospital, but Nevvy was being quite temperamental and Harry wasn't helping matters."

"We're fine." Luna smiled, getting out of bed to hug her grandmother as well. "And Lily's all better now anyway."

"Yep." Lily grinned, laying back against her pillow, hugging Quaffle to her tightly. Mrs. Weasley kissed her and then moved to tuck Luna in as well, giving her a kiss.

"Alright now, you two settle down and get some rest. I love you."

"Love you, Gramma." Mrs. Weasley turned out the light and shut the door behind her. Lily rolled over in bed, facing the wall and keeping a tight hold on her beloved little pet. Her eyes sagged and she was asleep before she could even so much as do any pondering over what had happened today.

_Lily yawned, her eyes shooting open as she was jostled. She was being carried by someone and it was dark out, but she was too sleepy to really care about where they were. She felt perfectly safe and sound in his arms. "Hey Snidget, go back to sleep. It's late."_

"_Where are we going?" She asked, unable to keep her curiosity from peaking. _

"_Someplace special, but you'll ruin the surprise if you're awake when we get there. We've got a ways to go anyway, so why don't you try and go back to sleep, Snidget?"_

"_A surprise?"_

"_Yes. A very special surprise." Lily yawned against, her eyes heavy. A pair of lips found her forehead and she closed her eyes again, nuzzling her face up against his chest. "Goodnight, Snidget."_

_And suddenly, her eyes were open again, and she was being laid down someplace. And he was walking away… further and further. She chased after him, calling for him to come back, to not leave her. But he didn't even turn his head around to look at her… and then he was gone, and she was quite alone… and everything was pitch black. She screamed._

"NO! No, come back! Don't go… please don't leave me… come back!"

"Lily! Lily, wake up!" Lily's eyes shot open, her chest heaving as she took in her surroundings. Luna's face hovered above her own in the dim little room and she sat up, glancing around. She was safe… she was at Ginny's place. "Are you alright? You were thrashing around like crazy."

"Y-yeah." Lily nodded as the door opened and Ginny peeked in at them.

"What's all the screaming?"

"Lily had a nightmare."

"Are you alright, Lils?" Lily nodded and then shook her head as she burst into tears. Her heart ached, but she wasn't quite sure as to why now. As soon as she'd woken up, the dream had drifted away. She couldn't even remember what she'd been scared of…

"C-can I sleep w-with you, G-ginny?" She asked, already knowing the answer as she climbed out of bed. Luna watched her with worried eyes but climbed back into her own bed, knowing her aunt would be able to sooth her best friend better than she could.

Lily followed Ginny into the next room and climbed into her big bed as Ginny pulled herself up and out of her chair and onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around Lily. "Shush, you're alright. What was your dream about?"

"I don't know. I just know it was scary."

"Well, you're safe. So just close your eyes and go to sleep now, love." Lily nodded and buried her face against Ginny's chest, the flowery scent of her calming her nerves and sending her into a quiet stupor. Ginny sighed, hoping that nightmares weren't going to become a thing of habit, but fter the day's ordeals, she wouldn't be surprised if they did.

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Phew, that one took a while. I think my brain died slightly in the middle there... Anyway! I hope you like it even though it's not the best. Lemme know what you think!

Luffs,

S.Q.O.


	19. Ministry

Disclaimer: Same deal as always. JK Rowling RULES!

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**Little Lily**

_Chapter Nineteen: Ministry_

"What is your name?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked. He and a good portion of the Aurors were down in one of the trial rooms at the ministry, interrogating the man that had finally been captured. Unknowing as to whether he was truly a threat to them or not yet, they had opted for binding him to the hard wooden chair, though with soft belt-like straps as opposed to the old metal ones they had used years ago. The man struggled against them, apparently very much wanting to be free, to not have to answer any questions. "Your name, sir." Kingsley repeated. His voice was calm and kind as usual though he seemed to be beginning to get irritated. They'd been at this for the past half an hour and were getting nowhere. "Sir, if you're not going to cooperate, we'll have to force feed you truth serum."

The man sagged in the chair as though defeated. His brown hair flopped into his eyes as he did so, hanging his head. "I mean you no harm, please, undo these bindings."

"I cannot do that. Please, tell us your name." The man kept silent and Kingsley sighed, rubbing his brow with two fingers. "Weasley, if you please."

Ron rose from where he was sitting beside Kingsley and stepped down into the little ring. He moved towards the man, holding a flask of Veritaserum. The man's eyes widened and he squeezed his mouth shut tightly, shaking his head, indicating that he was not about to take it willingly. He struggled against his bindings as Ron pocketed the flask and pulled a needle from his pocket. He uncapped it and gave the needle a poke, ridding it of any air bubbles before he stabbed it into the man's arm, pushing down the syringe until the entirety of the potion in the syringe was in the man's blood stream. Ron stepped away as the man began to struggled harder against his bindings.

Much of the man's bulk was shrinking, making him skinnier and leaner than the man he was impersonating. His beard shot into his chin, leaving him clean cut as his hair exploded outwards into a messy mass of unruly locks. It darkened steadily in color until it was as black as could be. Ron's eyes widened as the man looked at him, pleading in his now emerald green, almond shaped eyes. And there, just under the hair falling on his forehead was a thin scar shaped like lightning.

Ron felt his knees go weak and he nearly fell to the floor, his mouth moving like a goldfish out of water. He shook his head, his red hair flopping about as he tried to choke up the words he was trying to say and keep back the tears that were brimming in his blue eyes. Instead, he straightened himself out, strode forward, and began undoing the bindings on the chair.

"Well, this is certaintly a surprise." Kingsley just about laughed, pocketing his wand and rising from his seat. He picked up the pair of glasses they had taken from the man's pockets and levitated them down to the two men on the floor. Ron caught them and handed them to the man before he undid the last of the bindings. The man put on his glasses, standing up and rubbing at his wrists.

"Harry." Ron stated simply, and then the two men were hugging, gripping the back of each other's robes as though they never wanted to let the other go. "Harry… why… how are you alive? We all thought you were dead… until the tomb got broken open."

Harry sighed, sitting back down as though he'd walked a thousand miles in one day. "I was unconscious. I don't remember anything between the time Voldemort tried to kill me and waking up in a stone box."

"But why didn't you come to us when you woke?"

"I… I couldn't face any of you. I was so ashamed… Fred… Lupin... Tonks… even Colin Creevey. It was completely my fault that they died. If I had turned myself in sooner… if I had just gone the first time Voldemort called for me to give myself up, then they would still be here… a lot of people would still be here. By the time I woke up, you all thought I was dead and buried, so I just kept going on being dead. I decided that I would go abroad and finish myself off. It would be so much easier than facing you all again… after all the lives I had cost everyone." Harry shook his head, burying his face in his hands.

"You know we would never blame you for any of it. It wasn't your fault. It was Voldemort's doing, and we all just got caught up in the cross fire. The fighting wouldn't have ended if you had turned yourself in any earlier, Harry. We still would have fought, and lives would still have been lost, perhaps even more. We weren't about to let Voldemort get the better of us just because he'd thought he won."

"You know, you're right. But I still feel completely responsible." Ron just about laughed, putting a hand down on his old best mate's shoulder.

"You wouldn't be Harry if you didn't feel that way. What happened after that?" Ron sat down on the floor now and Harry sank out of the chair to join him.

"I magicked myself out of the tomb as soon as it was dark out, swiped one of the school brooms, and flew until I was in the mountains. From there, I disapparated to London… I put on the invisibility cloak and took the first plane I could. I didn't care where it was headed. I ended up in Boston. I traveled north a bit, until it felt like I was in the damn middle of nowhere. But I just couldn't do it. After all the trouble, I caused, I couldn't even bring myself to finish myself off… because that would mean Voldemort would have gotten the better of me after all. So, I found a little inn… right near the border between Vermont and New Hampshire, and that's where I stayed for years, working as a repair man under the name James Carpenter."

"So, Lily is your's then?" Ron asked curiously, noting the last name automatically.

"Yes… She's my little Snidget." Harry smiled a little, his mind seeming to wander away. "How is she?"

"She's great. Staying at Ginny's for a couple of days." Ron dug into his pocket and pulled out one of the photos his father had taken at Christmas. Lily was smiling brightly, her arms slung around the shoulders of Luna and Xavier, all of them in their Weasley sweaters. He handed the photo to Harry who's face erupted in the biggest grin Ron had seen from him yet. "They're almost just like us and Hermione, those three are. That's my Luna Nymphadora…"

"You have a daughter as well?" Harry asked, looking up from the picture curiously.

"Yeah. She's eleven." Ron nodded proudly, digging back into his pocket to tug out a photo of his family that he kept in his wallet. "This one's from last summer… Of course… that's Hermione. And then we've got Harry Neville, he's thirteen now, and that's little Ginevra Rose, but we just call her Nevvy for short, she'll be three soon."

"You named your son, Harry?" Harry laughed, handing the photo back to him, but keeping a hold of the one that had his own daughter in it.

"'course we did." Ron laughed back, pocketing the photo again. "But he's everything like Fred and George. He and George's son, Marcus, have exploded about fifteen toilets each in just three years at school. Luna got Hermione's brains and my humor, and then Nevvy is every bit like Hermione. I don't think she's got an ounce of me in her, but that's fine by me."

"How about this fellow here? He looks familiar." Harry asked, pointing to Xavier who's eyes kept flitting to Lily, a small smile on his face like he was happy just to be included.

"Oh, that's Xavier Malfoy, but don't worry. He's nothing like his father." Ron laughed at the look on Harry's face. "He got disowned when the Sorting Hat put him in Ravenclaw, and we sort of took him in. He and Lily are always playing Gobstones from what Mum says."

"A Malfoy in Ravenclaw? Wow…"

"Yeah. Luna and Lily are in Ravenclaw as well." Harry smiled, looking quite pleased at this news. "So um… why did you leave her, exactly? Aren't you the one who once told me and Hermione that parents should never leave their kids unless they absolutely have to?"

Harry sighed, having hoped that this particular portion of the conversation wouldn't come up so soon. But this was Ron… he had to tell him. They were all in danger now that he'd been captured as it was, they might as all know what they were up against. "When Lily was five, this group of men came to stay at the inn. They were really nice to her, playing games and such in the lobby, but at about midnight, after everything was quiet, I woke up to her screaming bloody murder. So I grabbed my wand and went to see what was going on. I caught those men trying to smuggle her out the front door, but she'd bitten one of them and somehow formed a bubble around herself that no one could pop… and it was too slippery to grab hold of. Turns out, they were wizards as well, and we dueled. But there were too many of them. I had to yell for her to pop her bubble… and then we apparated out of there."

"Why did they want to kidnap her?" Ron asked, his eyes wide, gripping his wand tightly.

"There's a bloody prophecy, that's why." Harry stated angrily, kicking the chair. "I haven't heard it for myself, but I've been able to get bits and pieces of it out of the kidnappers every time we've had a run in… it's something about a witch with twice the power of any witch or wizard that's every lived."

"And they think it's about Lily?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Because of her eyes… the prophecy says something about two different colored eyes. One of the kidnappers is a rouge governmental wizard, and he tracks underage magic in the States. He and his fellows would go and investigate every single little girl showing signs of magic. Lily's been exploding with magic since she was born. So no matter where I took her, they'd eventually find us, because they could track her. So, this past summer, I decided to go after them instead of them going after her. I wrote to Hogwarts, saying that I was going to be sending my daughter to live with her relatives, the Weasleys at the Burrow, so that she could go to the best wizarding school in the country."

"If they can track her, how come they haven't come for her here yet?" Ron asked, still looking quite stunned.

"Because, they can only track children in the States. They don't have any governmental power over here, so she's been safe up until today. I'm not sure how they found her, but I'll be damned if they do it again. I'll feel better once she's back at school, where nothing can touch her."

"Well, she's safe for now. She's surrounded by wizards and witches at the wizarding flat block Ginny lives in, Topsy-Turvy. And Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"What about her mother?" Ron asked this hesitantly, as though afraid to hear the answer to his question.

"Willow Montgomery… She was the Muggle woman who owned the inn we lived in. She was impossibly kind and beautiful, but we never loved each other the way people who have children together should love each other. She never desired love, but she did desire a child. And she begged me endlessly for some time, to help her achieve her dream, and how does one say no to something like that? So, I agreed and we had Lily… but Willow died during child birth." Harry frowned, looking quite sad.

"I'm sorry…" Ron said, patting his back and Harry shook his head.

"It was a long time ago. It's been harder on Lily. For a while she thought it was all her fault she didn't have a mother. But I've done everything I can to be the best dad possible and we get along ok… at least, we did until all this crap started happening."

"I can imagine." Ron nodded, knowing how he would feel if somebody kept trying to take away one of his children.

"So… when can I see her?" Harry asked, his voice desperate. Kingsley cleared his throat and Harry and Ron looked up, having completely forgotten there were others present in the room.

"Harry, if it's Lily that the Bomber Bandits are after, then why all the explosions?" Kingsley asked curiously.

"It's a distraction." Harry explained simply. "To keep everyone from guessing what their real motive is."

"I suppose we should inform the rest of the Weasley family as soon as possible then. So we can take the necessary precautions to keep Lily safe." Kingsley stated, rising from his chair. "You said she was staying at Ginny's?"

"Yes sir." Ron nodded in confirmation. "She can't travel by floo or side-along apparition for forty-eight hours due to her concussion. Harry!" Ron yelped as Harry grabbed him by the front of his robes, his eyes wild.

"What concussion!"

"She's fine! She got a concussion at the stadium when some rocks fell, so Ginny took her to the hospital. It wasn't that bad… the Healers released her after a few hours."

"Ginny?" Harry asked, dropping his grip on Ron, the name finally registering in his brain after having been mentioned several time. He'd been so intent on hearing about his daughter though, that he hadn't given it a second thought until then.

"Yes, Ginny. Lily just loves her… they get along great." Ron nodded with a sigh. "She was pretty roughed up for a while you know. Never really got over… well… anyway…"

Harry didn't ask anymore, sensing a finality in Ron's words. He would just have to find more out about Ginny on his own. "So, can we go see her now?"

"Harry, it's past midnight." Ron sighed, checking his watch. "They'll all be in bed. Why don't we wait until tomorrow morning?"

"I can't." Harry shook his head. "I need to see her."

"I… alright. But we'd better stop by and see Hermione first. She's probably up wondering where the hell I am."

* * *

And now, you have it! I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm hoping the actual contents of it will make up for that. Lemme know what you think!

Always with love,

S.Q.O.


	20. Together

Discl-... you already know.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Twenty: Together_

"Harry, I really don't think this is such a good idea." Hermione said, placing a hand on his arm as he stepped towards the fireplace, his hand full of Floor powder. "It's the middle of the night. They could mistake you for a prowler… and besides… didn't you say Lily won't remember you until you perform the counter curse to your Memory charm? Why not wait until at least seven, let them sleep for four more hours."

When Harry and Ron had shown up at Ron and Hermione's little house on the other side of Ottery St. Catchpole, Hermione had had to put a silencing charm on herself to keep from waking up little Harry and Nevvy. She had called Harry just about every name under the sun (Ron had translated, having gotten good at reading her lips when she was angry) and then nearly crushed his ribs she'd hugged him so hard. Finally, after about half an hour of that, they'd been able to sit down and Harry had been forced to retell his story to his other old best friend (Ron had helped with that as well) and it was now three in the morning.

"If I break the charm while she's asleep, then she'll recognize me when she wakes." Harry said for about the fifth time. "Hermione, I haven't been able to even write to her in five and a half months. I need to see her as soon as is possible, and right now feels as good a time as any."

"Harry, I think we should prepare her before you…"

"I can't wait any longer, Hermione! I'm going mad."

"What I mean to say is we should let Ginny know first. She's going to have a heart attack if you just show up without warning. Let Ron and I go ahead of you so we can..."

"All right." Harry sighed, flopping down into a chair. "But what about your kids?"

"Oh, I'll leave a note and Harry will be fine to watch Nevvy until we get back so long as there aren't any small objects that could fit up Nevvy's nose lying… around…" Hermione seemed to ponder this over for a minute. "Actually, Ron, you had better stay here. I'll talk to Ginny alone. You're not always very good at dealing with these types of things." With that said, Hermione grabbed up a handful of Floo powder and disappeared into the fire place.

"Your little one likes to put things up her nose huh?" Harry grinned. Ron shook his head.

"No, my oldest likes to put things up my little one's nose. The childrens' Healers at St. Mungo's have started a list in the past couple of years of items they've had to extract from kids' noses. Nevvy's contributed two hundred and sixty three items in her life time."

"How long is the list?"

"Two hundred and sixty four. The sixty fourth belongs to Harry." Ron shook his head, his ear turning red while Harry laughed, clapping him on the back. "I swear, I would have plugged up her nose if she didn't need it to breathe. Luna, she's a Healer over there now, says that they get kids with things up their noses all the time, but Nevvy's always the first to have the specific item."

"What was the oddest one?" Harry asked curiously, eyeing the Floo powder pot anxiously. He wanted Hermione to give the ok already.

"Believe it or not, Harry's finger. And it was an accident that time… he'd been super gluing something or other and went to help Nevvy with a booger. At least, that's what he claims."

…

"So… let me get this straight…" Ginny said, rolling back and forth in her wheelchair. Hermione had shaken her gently awake not ten minutes ago, being super careful not to wake Lily in the process. They'd gone out onto the porch to talk, even though the air was freezing and they could see their breath. They didn't want to risk having this conversation in the living room with Xavier sleeping on the couch. "Harry… our Harry who is supposed to be dead but really isn't due to some crazy fluke, is the man who has been showing up at all of these explosions and fighting the Bandits, because he's trying to keep them away from his daughter, Lily, who they want to kidnap because they think she has twice the power of any witch or wizard ever seen because of some prophecy?"

"I know it sounds quite farfetched." Hermione sighed, leaning against the porch railing, rubbing her frozen hands together. "But he had Veritaserum in his system when he told everything to Ron, Kingsley, and several other Aurors at the Ministry."

"And now, he wants to come to my flat at three thirty in the morning because he can't wait another few hours to see Lily?"

"Yes."

Ginny sighed, rolling herself back and forth a little faster now, her heart racing. Did she want to see Harry? Could she? Would she be able to manage it without going postal on his arse, or worse, get weepy over his return? But then, her mind flitted back to the child sleeping in her bed… the one suffering from nightmares that had her waking almost every two hours tonight because they were so scary. After the third one, Lily had been able to tell her that in her dream, someone left her and wouldn't return. "He can come… for Lily's sake. But he's not to wake her! She's had a tough time sleeping and it's the first time she's not been flailing all over the place since I got her calmed down again."

"It'll be alright, Ginny." Hermione said, trying to reassure her best female friend. She apparated away, and returned moments later with Harry who looked quite bemused at having been side along apparated without warning. Ginny pulled open the apartment door, not acknowledging him, nor knowing quite how to at that moment. She averted her eyes, training them on the floor as he passed by her, his own mind dead set on one thing.

"She's in here." Hermione offered, moving to the second door on the right. "Ginny said she's been having nightmares off and on all night, and she only just got her settled in again, so… if you can avoid waking her… I'm sure she's exhausted."

"Of course." Harry nodded and pulled the door open, peering in cautiously. Hermione left him, heading outside to talk to Ginny, see how she was doing.

A small white night gown clad figure lay sprawled in the large bed, laying on her stomach with her head facing to the left, right arm stretched upwards, left arm tucked close, holding onto what looked like a ragdoll… He smiled and entered the room, moving slowly and silently as possible to sit on the foot of the bed. He reached a hand up and ran his fingers through those unruly locks of hair that he loved so very much. The ones he had had to learn how to brush and braid. "You've no clue how much I've missed you, Snidget." He sighed, pulling the blankets up to cover her. She was always one for kicking them off.

At his voice, Lily stirred, rolling in the bed. Her eyes flew open and she blinked, glancing around the room in search of Ginny. When she came to find that there was no red head in the bed and instead, a strange man, she screamed. Harry instinctively moved to calm her but she flinched away from him, rolling out of the bed and running for the door.

"Was goin' on?" Xavier asked, having risen from the couch at Lily's scream. He climbed off of the couch and Lily ran into him, gripping him about the chest and hiding her face against his shoulder, shaking. She'd had so many nightmares that night, that waking up to a stranger had finally done in any ounce of bravery she'd had left in her.

Harry's heart broke slightly as he watched her run from him as opposed to towards him. He rose from the bed and went to stand in the doorway, watching as his daughter clung to the little boy who he hadn't noticed on the couch.

"What's going on in here?" Hermione asked, coming in through the front door. She looked from Lily and Xavier to Harry, looking quite deflated. She seemed to understand what had happened after a moment and sighed moving to peel the girl from the rather shocked looking boy. "Oh, Lily. There's nothing to be scared of. He's a friend."

Lily twined her fingers into the fabric of Hermione's dressing gown, calming at the fact that there was an adult she knew she could trust present now. "Who is he?" She asked after a moment, eyeing Harry curiously now.

"He's… well… he's…" Hermione struggled.

"He's your dad." They all turned to look at Ginny who had followed Hermione in through the door and was looking at Harry with one of the most pained expressions Lily had ever seen. She looked from Ginny to Harry, her brow furrowed.

"He's my what?" She asked, unbelievingly. She looked at Harry now, her eyes glued to his face, as though searching for some little bit of recognition, proof that he was who they said he was. But she couldn't find it. Everything about him was new… except for the color of his eyes. She'd seen that before in her own face. "But…"

"I'm your dad, Snidget." Harry sighed, stepping forward a bit, more into the light. "I had to go away for a while. But I'm back now."

"Why didn't I know you were away then?" Lily asked curiously, letting go of Hermione and glaring up at Harry accusingly. "Why don't I know you?"

"I… Oh Snidget… it's complicated."

"You must not of wanted me very much, to have left me. That's not complicated at all."

"Not want you?" Harry groaned and slid down the doorway to the floor. "There's not a person in the world who wants you more than I do. But you have to understand, Snidget, I had to leave. I had to wipe your memory, had to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?" Lily asked even more curiously, stepping closer to him, looking down, her eyes still straining for that tiniest bit of familiarity about this man.

"There are some things I can't tell you, but you have to just trust me that they're true, alright?" Harry almost pleaded, knowing she would keep asking, especially because he didn't want to tell her. She was much too young to deal with these sorts of things… and so… small.

"For a stupid adult reason right?" Lily sat down on the floor and Harry nearly laughed. She was always so perceptive.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. You might understand a little bit better, if I were to give you back your memories."

"Oh, do I get them back then?" Lily asked, perking up even more so now, her eyes wide with glee. She knew she was missing pieces of herself… things she hadn't been able to remember no matter how hard she had tried. And getting them back would be quite lovely indeed. "How?"

"When a wizard casts a memory charm… his wand contains the memories he takes." Harry explained, digging into his pocket for his old holly wand. "Come here."

Lily scooted across the floor, getting close enough for Harry to place the tip of his wand against her temple. A silvery fluid began spewing forth out of it, shooting into her skull, filling her brain with all of those lost things. It took a few minutes, but once the flow stopped, Lily opened her eyes. She looked up at Harry, grinning brightly. "I know you."

Harry beamed and opened his arms as Lily shot herself towards him, her little arms closing tightly around his neck, gripping him as though afraid to let go of him. Harry rose from the floor, his daughter's feet dangling until she wrapped her legs around his waist. "There's my Snidget."

"You were at the stadium. You saved me." Lily said excitedly, nuzzling her head up against his chin.

"Yes." Harry snuggled her closer, resting his cheek on top of her head, his smile wide. He looked at Hermione, who had tears in her eyes, and then at Ginny, who was looking a bit disappointed… but they would talk tomorrow and he would figure out why she was in that wheelchair. Right now, he had something a little more important to be taking care of. "But now is not the time to be discussing anything, young lady. You should be in bed."

"Awww, but I'm not the least bit sleepy anymore, Daddy." Lily yawned, giving herself away.

"Yes, you are." Harry laughed turning curiously. He'd found her in Ginny's room… so that meant there was probably another bed around here that she was actually supposed to be snoozing in. "Hmm… Go on then." He set her down, but she clung to him.

"You can have my bed." Ginny sighed, pointing to the bigger bedroom. "I'll crash with Luna. Xavier, you go back to sleep too. It's way too early for any of us to be awake."

"Thanks, Gin." Harry smiled at her, but she ignored him, rolling herself to the closed door, pushing herself into the room, and the tugging the door shut behind herself.

"I'll get home." Hermione said sleepily, bags under her eyes. "I'll see you lot in the morning. Good night."

"Good night, Hermione… and thanks." Harry watched her disapparated and lifted his daughter back up into his arms. He looked at the boy who was still standing there, gawking at him.

"You're… you're…." Xavier sputtered but Harry shook his head.

"Go back to bed."

"Yes sir." Xavier scurried back to the couch, burying himself beneath the flowery covers Ginny had laid out for him. Harry carried Lily into Ginny's bedroom and set her down on the bed.

"You won't leave me again, will you?" Lily asked, her voice full of worry and Harry shook his head, tucking the covers up under her chin before crawling in next to her and snuggling her close.

"Not a chance, Snidget."

* * *

Ok, this chapter kind of blows in length and it's not as good as I would like it to be, but I just can't seem to get it right, so here you go! I hope you enjoy it, even though it's lacking. Lemme know what you think!

Love always,

S.Q.O.


	21. Messes

Disclaimer: JK Rowling be awesome.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Twenty One: Messes_

"Ginny?" Harry stepped into the kitchen cautiously, not wanting to startle her, though startling Ginny Weasley would always be something people weren't capable of. Growing up in a house with six older brothers had made her impervious to people jumping out and saying 'boo.' Harry's heart was pounding as he stared at the back of her head. Her hair was shorter than he remembered her ever having had it... skimming just above her shoulders. Or maybe it was just that she seemed shorter in the wheelchair… he wasn't exactly sure how to ask about that damn thing. The Ginny he remembered had always been up and running around… she must hate the damn chair.

"What d'you want?" Ginny asked, not trusting herself to turn around for chance of getting weepy at the sight of him. She'd barely held herself together last night. "Where's Lily?"

"Sleeping… she's still tuckered out, I think. Ginny, you know I had my reasons for… for not coming back…" Harry gulped as Ginny spun around, slamming a bowl of pancake batter down on her little kitchen table beside what appeared to be a covered pie.

"You cannot come back after all this time, Harry Potter, and expect everyone to be nearly as forgiving as Ron and Hermione."

"I know… I was actually expecting Hermione to set those crazy birds on me, but she just cussed me out instead. Quite colorful language she's got now. What exactly is a two-faced buttinsky trollop?" Harry slipped down into a chair, not wanting her to feel like he was towering over her. Ginny continued to glare at him.

"Who knows. But really, Harry? Why couldn't you just have stayed… dead." Ginny slammed a spoon into the batter and began stirring it, trying to get the lumps out. "Oh!... I don't mean that. Of course I'm glad you're alive. But it's really crap of you to have pretended to be dead for almost twenty years. And the only good thing that's come out of it is that child sleeping in my bed."

"You're right, you know." Harry sighed, nodding. "I'm really sorry I didn't come back sooner, but I'm also not. Because then there wouldn't be a Lily."

"Well, just… don't be so stupid in the future." Ginny said firmly, smacking him over the head with a battery spoon. Harry grimaced as it dropping down his neck as well as his face. He reached for his wand but Ginny shook her head. "Don't you dare magic that off of you." It gave her some satisfaction to see him covered in batter.

Harry sighed and took the ladle she now had from her, dipped it in the batter and then dumped the entire contents of it over his head. "I'm a two-faced buttinsky trollop."

"Annd a pratty gitty toeraggy arsefaced…."

"Jackass." Harry finished for her, shuddering as the batter found its way into his pants. "I really appreciate you letting me stay over the night, Gin."

"Don't you Gin me like everything is ok now." Ginny handed him another ladle full of batter and he sighed, dumping it over himself again. She sniffed, seeming satisfied. "Now you can Gin me. But don't expect me to have forgiven you yet."

"Gotcha." Harry nodded. "Would you like me to add some of the strawberry syrup?" He asked, pointing to the red bottle sitting on the table. Ginny picked it up and took aim. Harry spread his arms as she sprayed him, covering him in the red gooey substance, laughing as he stood and danced about in a circle. "Happy?"

"Mildly." Ginny nodded, her face still set, but Harry could tell the corners of her mouth were twitching just at the sight of him covered in messy goop. "Don't drip on my carpet, but go get yourself cleaned up."

"Ok," Harry nodded, figuring that this was the best he could have hoped for. He trod carefully, trying quite diligently not to drip on her carpet, heading for the bathroom for a shower. At least she hadn't set her famous Bat-Bogey hex on him, but then, he wouldn't have blamed her if she had.

By the time Harry had finished in the shower and came out of the bathroom batter and syrup free, the little boy he had somewhat met the night before was already sitting at the little table, digging into a pile of pancakes that looked positively delicious. Harry sat down across from him and Ginny set a plate containing one very small pancake in front of him. Yeah… she was definitely still mad. "Thanks, Ginny."

Xavier leaned across the table towards Harry, his deep brown eyes still wide as ever in his pale face. He whispered, as though afraid of announcing it to the entire world… "You're Harry Potter."

Harry mimicked the boy's movements, leaning forward and staring him dead in the eyes. He recognized him now from one of the photos Ron had shown him the night before. "You're Xavier Malfoy."

A little brown haired girl about Lily's size came stumbling out of the smaller bedroom, dragging her feet and the blanket off of her bed. By the looked of her pajamas, they weren't made for winter, but they were so worn out they had to be her favorite. She flopped herself into a chair between Harry and Xavier. She started shoveling pancakes into her mouth as soon as they were placed before her, ignoring the strange man she hadn't seemed to notice in her groggy state.

Harry laughed, unable to note the resemblance between the girl and Ron. This had to be the Luna he had talked about… a miniature female Ron with Hermione's crazy hair. Luna's attention transferred from her pancakes to the man and she blinked, turning her head to look at Xavier. "I missed something important, didn't I?"

"Oooooh yeah." Xavier nodded and pointed his fork at Harry. "He's…"

"Daddy?" Lily shouted, sounding panicked. She came running out of the bedroom, her hair a nest of chaos, eyes wide with fear until she spotted everyone in the kitchen. She sighed and calmed instantly, climbing into the last chair at the table, across from Luna. "Don't do that!" She glared, whacking her father with her fork. "I thought you'd left me again."

Luna's eyes were wide now, as she looked from Lily to Harry, her eyes seeming to get bigger and bigger as she did so, her fork already halfway to her already full mouth. She swallowed. "But you're Harry Potter!"

"That's what I just said!" Xavier said, pounding his fist on the table in aggravation, as though he was not to be the last to figure it out.

"No he isn't. He's James Carpenter." Lily stated simply, nomming away at her pancakes. Ginny spun around so fast you'd of thought she was standing.

"You lied about your name!" She lifted the batter bowl…. And down it went over his head, Harry wincing. "Lily, you're dad's Harry Potter. Though I expect he changed his name to help keep you safe, because there are still some people in the world who would want him dead."

Lily frowned at her father, looking quite disappointed with him. She shook her head, whacking his hand with her fork. "So… if you're Harry Potter then…" Lily gasped, looking from Harry to Ginny and giggling. "You're the…"

"That's enough, Lily. Eat your breakfast." Harry coughed, rising from his seat. He set the bowl from his head to the table. "I'm going to take another shower." He wandered away back into the bathroom to try and scrub the goop from himself again.

"This is so cool!" Luna exclaimed once the bathroom door had shut and they could hear the water running. "A living dead guy is in my aunt's shower!"

"He was never dead to begin with. Just unconscious." Ginny explained, throwing the batter bowl into the sink and waving her wand to clear the empty plates off of the table.

"Oh Ginny…" Lily spun around on one foot excitedly, twirling. "Are you and my dad gonna get married? You used to be in love right?"

"It would be terribly romantic." Luna sighed, leaning her chin against her chair and getting dreamy eyed.

"No. That was a very long time ago. Before even your cousin Teddy was born. Not another word on the matter." Ginny waved her ladle at them threateningly, but the girls just giggled, running off into the little bedroom to get dressed for the day.

Word that Harry was back and at Ginny's reached the Burrow by midmorning after Hermione had finally dragged herself out of bed at Nevvy's request for her presence at a tea party. Hermione had entered her youngest daughter's bedroom to find Ron sitting on one of the tiny chairs, a pink feather boa around his neck and a floppy flowered hat on his head. She placed a hand over her mouth so as not to laugh.

"Mama, you sit next Lady Lulu." Nevvy pointed to the seat beside Ron who's ears went pink. "Papa Lady Lulu." The two year old squealed, dragging most of one of her mother's dresses along the floor as she walked. She loved getting into things to play dress up in, especially her mother's clothes.

"Mama has to make a call, but I'll be back. You and Lady Lulu can start without me. I'll even bring us back some snacks, alright?"

"'tay Mama."

Hermione left the bedroom and headed downstairs to the fireplace. She threw in some Floo powder and slipped her head in. "The Burrow!" She felt her head spinning slowly and then she was looking up at the kitchen of the Burrow. "Good morning, Molly."

Mrs. Weasley jumped, turning around to look at the fire. "Oh! Hello Hermione."

"Molly, I just thought you should know… that that man we captured yesterday? Well, he's Harry."

"No!" Mrs. Weasley said, looking shocked. She fell into a chair, her eyes wide, a hand over her heart. "How can…"

"It's a very long story. But the short version is he was actually unconscious when we buried him and was too ashamed to face us because he feels like it's his fault everyone died. Oh, and Lily is his, Ginny was right."

"Oh my Merlin." Mrs. Weasley blinked rapidly, choking back a few sobs. "Oh… oh…."

"He's at Ginny's, if you wanted to…" Hermione pulled her head quickly out of the fireplace as Mrs. Weasley disapparated with a pop, not waiting for Hermione to finish her sentence.

"Where is he?" Mrs. Weasley asked, popping out of the fireplace in Ginny's flat, disrupting the game of Gobstones Lily and Xavier had started not five minutes ago. The bathroom door opened and Mrs. Weasley ran forward, throwing her arms around Harry and tugging him to her. "Harry!"

"Hi Mrs. Weasley." Harry laughed, hugging her back tightly. He'd actually missed these hugs, the kind a mother gave to her children. Although, he would have very much liked to of not had his ribs crushed quite this early in the day.

"Oh dear, you're so thin!" Mrs. Weasley stated almost accusingly as she let go and gave him a go over. "You look like you've been eating nothing but lettuce. But don't you worry, we'll feed you right up." She straightened his shirt, batting at invisible dirty spots (Harry'd cleaned it of batter in the bathroom) and hugging him again. "And Harry, dear, you don't have to call me 'Mrs.' anymore. You can just call me Molly, like everyone else."

"Er…. Right Mrs… Molly." Harry struggled slightly with it and smiled at her as she got weepy again and hugged him even tighter than she had before. He thought he was going to rupture a lung this time.

"You're too big to call her, Gramma, Daddy." Lily laughed, hugging Mrs. Weasley from behind and she jumped, spinning around.

"Oh! Hello dear." Mrs. Weasley smiled and hugged her back, giving her a good snuggle.

"Gramma is the best. She lets me stay in Ginny's old room, and play with her toys, and wear her clothes, and I got to take her old trunk to school with me. And she made me a birthday cake shaped like a puffskein! A puffskein,Daddy!" Lily bounced excitedly and then got an 'oh!' look on her face before running into the small bedroom.

"I cannot thank you enough, Mrs. Weasley." Harry smiled, hugging her this time. "She's so… happy. And she looks wonderful. I knew leaving her at the Burrow was the best pick. She's gotten so much love and care it's almost overflowing out her eyeballs."

'Oh… Harry." Mrs. Weasley mopped at her eyes and hugged him back tightly. "She's a joyful child, you know."

"Daddy, this is Quaffle!" Lily beamed, holding the custard colored fur ball over her head happily. Quaffle hummed loudly, nuzzling into her hair and snaking his tongue down to try and get into her nose. "Ginny said, when she took me to Diagon Alley, that McGonagall is pretty lenient about pets so long as they don't cause trouble or are illegal. He likes to eat boogers best. I haven't had a stuffy nose since I got him."

"He's cute, sweetie." Harry smiled, torn between keeping a straight face and laughing at how excited she was that the weird little thing ate her boogers. "Incredibly gross, but cute."

"Hey, Luna…" Lily bounced over to the table where her friends were still sitting, watching the going on's. "We should go play out in the garden." She pointed to the window, where snow was falling upwards from the sky onto the ground.

"Yeah!" Luna nodded excitedly and ran to get her coat. Xavier sighed and grabbed his cloak, tugging it on. Lily frowned at him.

"Don't you want to go out side?"

"I'd rather play Gobstones." Xavier admitted, looking abrasively out at the snow.

"We can play Gobstones later though. C'mon, we'll build a fort. And then we can tackle Luna with snow balls." Lily grinned conspiratorially. Xavier smiled back, this idea appealing to him. Luna was great for attacking with snowballs, because she never complained and she always gave it back to them full force and went down laughing. Lily grabbed hold of Xavier's hand, dragging him along towards the door.

"Cloak!" Ginny called after them from where she was contently washing dishes by hand, purposely ignoring Harry's presence. "Hats, mittens, boots!" The three small Ravenclaws complied, tugging on their winter wear before rushing out the door. "And stay within the gate!"

"You sound like a mum." Harry laughed at her, flopping down into a chair beside the burning fireplace. Ginny waved a soapy spoon at him.

"Not a word from you, Potter. You get outside and play with them."

"Er…."

"Do you want a repeat of breakfast?"

"Yes ma'am." Harry's eyes widened and he grabbed up his cloak, traipsing out into the winter wonder land without another word. He didn't need Ginny even angrier at him than she always was.

"Oh, give him a chance, dear." Mrs. Weasley sighed, taking the spoon away from her daughter and rinsing it under the tap. "From what Hermione told me, he's been doing everything he can just to keep that little girl safe. I don't think I've seen a more dedicated father than that… well… except for our Ronnie and Arthur of course."

"I still can't believe how well Ron took to it." Ginny snorted, remembering the time she'd popped over and found her older brother letting toddler Luna do his makeup and hair while he played dragons with Harry. She would never get the image of a made up Ron with about a thousand hair blows and clips all over his head out of her mind, or off of her mantel piece.

"Well, he was good with you growing up." Mrs. Weasley smiled, putting the picture Ginny had been thinking about back on the mantel. "Bill does a wonderful job as well. Though I suppose that comes from being the eldest."

"Even if his daughter is as pompous as Percy."

"She is a driven, sweet young lady." Mrs. Weasley waved away Ginny's comment, digging into her purse. "Anyways, dear, I also came by because I thought you should see this." She set a copy of that day's Daily Prophet down on the table and flipped it to the sports section. Ginny saw her own self and Lily smiling up from it, doing that last lap around the Quidditch pitch the day before.

_Seeker's Daughter?_

_By Pendleton Cruskey_

_Ginevra Weasley, Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies, is reported to have taken a young girl to St. Mungo's Hospital yesterday after the Bomber Bandits attacked the Harpies' stadium. A representative of St. Mungo's refused to comment on the matter, but an inside source tells me, that the child (pictured with Weasley above) was released only after five hours of treatment, indicating that she was injured in the attack but that there was no serious, lasting damage. The source also told me, that Weasley listed herself as the child's mother when she brought her in for care. Which begs the question, why have we not heard of or seen her before? And, if Weasley is the girl's mother, then who, exactly, is the father? St. Mungo's has no record of her. The child is around school age and, reportedly, looks absolutely nothing like a Weasley. As anyone who knows the Weasley clan will tell you, freckles and smidges of red in the hair can always be found on a Weasley. I, personally, saw the child first hand back in November when, as many of you will remember, Weasley was severely injured and paralyzed. Weasley's daughter has neither freckles nor even the slightest bit of red in her hair, leading this reporter to believe, that perhaps she is adopted, rather than some other scandalous situation. _

"Rather than some other scandalous situation!" Ginny seethed, throwing the paper down on the table. "St. Mungo's doesn't give an 'other' option! You're either the mother or the father and if you don't check either box, they can't see the child unless you produce papers indicating that you're their legal guardian!"

The door slammed shut causing Ginny and Mrs. Weasley to look around. Harry was panting, holding a snow soaked Lily, Luna and Xavier collapsing onto the floor behind them. "Reporters… loads of them. They kept yelling and asking questions about Lily."

Ginny held up the paper and Harry set Lily down, tromping wet slush all over the carpet as he went to take the paper from her. He read it, his face turning steadily redder until he dropped it and stomped upon it. "Those bastards! We've got to get out of here. They'll be converging on your door any time now. They saw where we went…"

Just as he spoke a knocking came on the door and Mrs. Weasley waved her wand quickly, causing the shades on the windows to fall, blocking them from anyone outside.

"Lily can't floor or apparate until tomorrow… Healer's orders." Ginny said worriedly.

Lily sighed, sitting down on the floor to tug off her boots and looking around at them all. "My head is fine."

"Well…." Harry sighed, not really wanting to risk his daughter's safety just to get her away from reporters. He straightened his cloak, took off his glasses and pulled on Xavier's big hat, tugging it down over his forehead and hair before he marched for the door. He pointed his wand at his eyes. "Colorite Brune. You lot stay here. I'll take care of this."

"Harry don't…." But he was already out the door. They could hear him cursing and yelling, telling the reporters off for chasing a bunch of kids. "If they find out who he is…"

"He doesn't look much like him anymore, Aunty." Luna said reassuringly, peeking out the window. "He made his eyes brown and covered up his scar."

"And he's twenty years older now." Ginny nodded, calming down a bit. "Well, you lot… we had better get some lunch started then, hadn't we? It's been an interesting morning."

"Can we have soup? I'm frozen. " Xavier stated, shivering as he shrugged off his wet cloak and mittens, his hair standing on end from having his hat taken so abruptly off his head. He slipped off his boots and wandered over to the couch, tugging the blankets he'd slept under last night around himself. Lily and Luna took off their winter things as well and joined him, forcing him to share the blanket.

"Why were the chasing us, Gramma?" Lily asked curiously, nestling herself between Luna and Xavier, tugging them both close enough to sandwich her in warmth.

"Don't you worry about…"

"No Mum. They should know. They'll have to hear about it at school soon anyway. Lils, everyone thinks you're my kid. Not that I'd mind having you as a kid, it's just… they're wondering who you are and where you came from because they haven't seen you before."

"Oh…" Lily frowned, biting her lip. "Well… maybe… you could tell them I am? I wouldn't mind."

"I know, but lying would be…"

"It wouldn't be lying." Lily said firmly, shaking her head. "You already take care of all of us like a mum would. And since I don't have a mum, I wouldn't mind calling you my mum. Actually, I think maybe I'd prefer it."

"You would?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide. "I mean… we could tell everyone I adopted you then. And no one's heard about it because you're a kid and you deserve privacy."

"Exactly." Lily beamed, resting her head on Luna's shoulder. Luna hugged her and they curled up, getting warm.

The door flung open and Harry fell inside. He slammed it shut behind himself, swearing under his breath. "Sorry Gin. I tried but they won't leave until you give them a word."

"Then I'll give them a word." Ginny rolled herself around, reached for her cloak on the hook and pulling it on haphazardly. "Lily and I have decided that I've adopted her… if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah… that's… that's great." Harry nodded, bemused at how they had thought of that when he hadn't. He moved to the couch. "Budge of Snidget." Lily scooted over and Harry sat down, pulling her onto his lap and cuddling her as Ginny went out the door.

"Miss Weasley! Is it true that you've got a daughter?" One reporter thrust himself at her, his quick quotes quill floating above him.

"Yes." Ginny said slowly, looking at them all. There had to be at least ten different reporters here, all of them trying to get the story of the week first. "I adopted her back in August."

"Why haven't we seen her until now?"

"She's been at school." Ginny waved her hand as though it was the silliest question anyone could have asked.

"Some would say it's a bit easier, isn't it, adopting a school aged child. You won't have to parent her nearly as much with her at school most of the time, will you?"

"That's silly." Ginny shook her head. "Just because she's at school doesn't mean I stop being her mum. You lot write to your kids, don't you? So I haven't parented her since she was a baby, so what? If more people would adopt older children instead of just babies, the world would be a better place."

"What's her name?"

"That's not something I'm going to tell you, now is it? She's a little girl. Just leave her alone, she doesn't need you all driving her mad before she's even hit puberty. That's all I'm going to tell you. Now please, get away from my windows and front door before I call my brothers to remove you."

"Miss Weasley!" One reporter shouted as she turned herself to go back inside. "Just one more…" But Ginny shook her head and rolled inside, slamming the door behind her. She looked over at her mother, working on what smelled like stew. And then to the four on the couch, Harry tickling his daughter as she begged him to stop between her laughs. Ginny smiled at the sight and then rolled to help her mother in the kitchen.

* * *

Yay! I finished another chappie! Sorry about not updating yesterday, I know you lot following it were probably waiting. But I wanted this chapter to actually have more to it than the last couple. Hope you liked it! Lemme know what you thought, I'd love to hear from you.

Lots of love,

S.Q.O.


	22. Bubble

Disclaimer: Go back to chapter one and read the disclaimer there. Or on all the other chapters too.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Bubble_

"And that class, is how you change a beetle into a button. Any questions?" McGonagall asked as she eyed her class of first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins. "Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"Professor, if one were to want a red button instead of a brown one, would you have to have a red beetle, or could you just use some sort of charm to change the color?" Luna asked curiously, her head tilted to the side as Lily and Xavier stared at her. Luna was known for asking the craziest questions in Transfiguration.

The winter holidays had ended a few days ago, forcing the children to return to school. Lily had been torn between her excitement to learn more magic and the dire feeling need to stay at the Burrow with her father, who she felt would be quite lonesome without her. She had to keep reminding herself that he had the entire Weasley family to keep him company while she was away, but it had stopped helping after the first hundred times she had told herself that. She had written him a letter every day so far, sometimes more than once a day, just to make sure he was coping well. He kept reassuring her that he was perfectly fine and to pay attention to her homework instead.

In her last letter, sent that morning, Lily had suggested he get himself a baby to keep him company while she was at school. She'd gotten one back at lunch, telling her not to be silly and to stick to maybe just one letter a day. She's resisted sending a letter right back and instead decided she would wait until after dinner to send one. In a way, she just liked hearing from him so often. She'd already spent the first bit of her first year not even knowing who her father was. She really didn't want to go through that again… she was quite worried that her memories would disappear, as they had before.

"It is possible to change the color of the button after you have created it, as well as the size. If you speak to Professor Flitwick, I'm sure he would be willing to help you with that. Now, let us begin." McGonagall went around the room, handing out a handful of beetles to every student so that they could practice.

After the class, Luna was sporting a handful of perfect little beetle sized black buttons that she was quite proud of. Lily had managed to make four buttons, and Xavier had nearly as many as Luna, though that was because he had squashed some of his beetles by accident. He wasn't always the most coordinated of people.

"Maybe we can look up that color changing spell, McGonagall mentioned later and you can try it out Lily. You're best at charms anyway." Luna suggested, counting her buttons curiously."I think I'd like one of each color, so that I can start collecting them to show Mum. She'll be right pleased, I think."

"I was thinking of sending mine to my Daddy." Lily admitted, pocketing her buttons. She looked at Xavier who was now frowning at his buttons and prodded him. "You can show your's to Gramma. I bet she'll be really proud of you."

Xavier forced a little smile, putting his buttons away in his pocket. It was still hard on him when the others spoke of their parents, since his didn't want him. "I suppose you're right. I'll bet she'll find a use for them." His smile widened at the thought of Mrs. Weasley and Lily grinned, knowing he felt better now. "Maybe I should send her some of my needles as well. Then she'll have spares for her sewing and not have to transfigure herself a new one every time she loses one and it gets stolen by the dust bunnies."

"My mum says that in the Muggle world, dust bunnies are just dust." Luna told them excitedly. "Imagine not having some crazy bunny shaped dust thing living under your bed and swiping whatever falls under there for dinner."

"There were never dust bunnies under my bed." Xavier shook his head. "The house elves saw to that."

"Well, my mum's got a lot more to do than clean under our beds." Luna told him flatly. "Besides, the way people treat house elves is terrible. They should be free to do what they want, not be slaves. The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare has expanded greatly since my mum started it, but she's still trying to get some of the higher ups in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to agree with it."

"House elves LOVE to work, Luna. It's in their nature to serve and please." Xavier sighed exasperatedly.

"That's only because they've never known any better!" Luna glared at him, her ears tingeing pink. Lily, spotting this as a sign of danger, made an attempt at changing the subject.

"So, how 'bout them Chudley Cannons?" A very poor attempt, actually.

"If the promotion goes through, then do you know how many house elves will be out on the streets, searching for jobs and having to ask for wages that nobody is going to give them?" Xavier continued, his cheeks starting to redden as much as Luna's ears were.

"It's better than being slaves! And there would be plenty of wizards and witches willing to take them in and pay them to do their work." Luna argued, stopping in her tracks. She and Xavier turned to look at each other, Lily having to stop in order to not walk directly between the two of them.

"The only people who would be willing to pay house elves would be Muggleborns who've never known otherwise!" Xavier glared, his face slowly getting redder and redder as Luna's ears did the same.

"Both of you stop it!" Lily yelped, jumping back as sparks flew out of both of their wands.

"He needs to see that…" Luna started but Xavier cut her off.

"She has to know…" They both growled and Lily could practically see them baring their teeth, looking quite like a pair of dogs ready to attack the other if they didn't get their way.

"House elves need rights too!" Luna shouted, clenching her firsts and stomping a foot, yelling it to the ceiling of the crowded corridor they were currently in.

"They're happy where they are!" Xavier yelled back, just as angry now. The pair of them turned their heads to look at Lily, who's eyes widened in horror. "What do you think?"

"I… well…"

"C'mon Lily, you know house elves are living beings who need to be treated as such." Luna said persuasively.

"Well…"

"But they're also much happier being told what to do as opposed to being forced to make decisions for themselves." Xavier countered through gritted teeth, his eyes glaring at Lily now.

Lily looked from one best friend to the other, confused as to whom to agree with and finding that she couldn't. They both had very good ideas… it would be impossible for her to decide which was the better one without more information first. Torn, she shook her head at them, refusing to pick.

"Oh come on, Lily! I'm your best friend, girls have to stick together." Luna said pleadingly, grabbing hold of Lily's right hand.

"One shouldn't base their decision upon a person's gender." Xavier replied bluntly, taking hold of Lily's left hand.

Lily felt as though they were tugging her in two opposite directions… but then again… they really were. At this point, Luna and Xavier had both begun to pull on the hand they held, making Lily's arms stretch out to the sides in some sort of absurd looking tug of war that nobody was going to win, especially not the make shift rope. Lily whimpered. "Stop it! I said stop!" But her friends weren't listening.

Feeling her own anger welling up inside of her, Lily tilted her head back and screamed. "AAAAARGH!" A giant burst of red light came forth from her, stretching in a sphere around her, throwing both Luna and Xavier into opposite walls of the corridor, making them let go of her. It sphere snapped back around Lily, forming what looked to be a very large soap bubble around her entire being.

"Ow…" Luna sat up, rubbing at the back of her head. "Lily, you didn't have to push… woah." Luna blinked, looking at Lily in shock and reaching out a hand to poke the bubble. It bounced around Lily who was just as wide eyed as her friends and the other students around them.

"I've heard of a Bubblehead Charm, but never a Bubblebody charm." Xavier winced as he got up off of the floor, giving the bubble a hesitant poke as well. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know." Lily frowned, prodding the inside of her bubble curiously. She took a couple steps forward and it floated along with her easily. She could vaguely remember doing something similar when she was younger, but nothing beyond that.

"It was probably accidental magic." Luna suggested, giggling slightly as she poked Lily's pop-resistant bubble a little harder now, watching it jiggle. "I used to do stuff all the time without really thinking about it when I was little."

"You look hilarious." Xavier grinned, apparently trying not to laugh at her as he too, began to poke at the bubble curiously.

"Except now I don't know how to be rid of it." Lily frowned, squeaking as she started walking again. "And we've still got to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Here, let me try." Xavier pulled the needles he had created in Transfiguration last term from his pocket. He slipped one out of the pin cushion that was there (to keep them from poking him in his pocket) and found the sharpest one. He prodded Lily's bubble with it, but nothing happened. The needle couldn't even mar the surface in the slightest."This is one crazy strong bubble."

"It gives a whole new meaning to one's personal bubble space, that's for sure. But maybe Hinald will know what to do. Don't worry about it, Lily." Luna suggested, covering her mouth to hide the fact that she was attempting not o laugh now.

"Actually, I think we'd better take her to Flitwick, he is the Charms professor after all…"

"Hinald is just as good a teacher as Flitwick, besides we'll be late."

"But he probably doesn't know his charms as well as…"

"He probably knows plenty to pop an impenetrable bubble! It's clearly a form of defense."

Lily sighed, watching as her friend's ears and faces grew red once more, their arguing continuing as they made their way down the corridor. Lily's face went red at her squeaking, receiving several amused looks from older students at her peculiar predicament. Sighing, she decided it would probably be best to go to Flitwick and see if he could help her first. They were supposed to be going over what they did wrong on their midterms today anyway, something she would be glad to miss if possible. "I'm going to go see Flitwick first. It's on the way."

"But we'll be late." Luna moaned. "If I'm late for his class again, he's going to give me detention."

"I can go by myself. Nothing bad will happen to me anyway, I'm stuck in a bubble." Lily laughed, squeaking her way down the corridor a bit fast now. She could feel the bubble rolling around her, kind of like a hamster ball. She pushed her hands out and pressed. It began to roll faster and she laughed, breaking into a run now, feeling herself bounce along slightly. People jumped out of her way… she could get used to this. Maybe she'd never be late for class again if she could just run and bounce her way there and not have to worry about the crowded hallways.

And then there were the stairs.

Spotting them up ahead, Lily skidded, trying to get her bubble to stop, but she was going much too fast, and went right over the edge, bouncing and rolling, feeling herself get twisted upside down and all around. Her speed picked up to an unstoppable amount.

"Lily!" Luna and Xavier shouted together, chasing after her, their argument forgotten as their friend careened down the stairs.

Lily tried to grope for anything to stop herself, but came up short, getting nothing but the side of the bubble. She turned her body, pushing one side, trying to aim for the wall to slow her down at least. She bounced off of it and into the Charms classroom where she did a weird sort of pinball roll around the desks and walls.

"Don't just stand there, catch her!" Hands grabbed at the bouncing Lily bubble. Somebody closed the door to keep her from flying out of it, and Lily felt herself slowing down considerably until she sort of just rolled to a stop. She saw her twelve year old cousins, George's son, Marcus, and Percy's son, Arthur, steadying her bubble as she slipped down inside of it, feeling quite queasy.

"You ok, Lily?" Arthur asked, pushing his glasses that had gone lopsided back up his nose.

"Ugh." Lily replied, closing her eyes and holding her stomach.

"She's turning green, Art…" Marcus said worriedly. He prodded the bubble hard, making an attempt to pop it, but it didn't budge. "Merlin's pants…"

"What's going on in here? Why was the door…" Flitwick started as he came into the room, but then he spotted Lily in her bubble. "Miss Carpenter, however did you mange that?"

"Accident. Professor, I don't feel so good… could you pop it?" Lily choked out, trying very very hard to keep down her lunch that wanted desperately to come back up.

"Of course. Everyone stand back. Duck your head, Miss Carpenter." Lily did as she was told and Flitwick raised his wand. The class scattered as a jet of silver light shot out of his wand, looking quite sharp. It hit the bubble…. And bounced right off of it. Flitwick ducked as his spell came back at him and it hit his desk, slicing it in two. "That… is one impossibly strong bubble, Miss Carpenter. I suggest you head down to the Hospital Wing until you can let your guard down and have it pop on your own. There is nothing I can do, very strange… I'm sorry."

"Yes sir." Lily sighed dejectedly, rising from where she lay on the bottom of the bubble that had stretched to accommodate her curled up position. She stumbled slightly, the bubble rolling along with her.

"Perhaps two of you would be willing to help Miss Carpenter roll herself down to the…"

"Lily!" Luna burst into the room, panting and closing followed by Xavier who skidded to a hault.

"Somebody said you'd flown in here… Oh, you look ill…"

"Ah yes. Miss Weasley, Mister Malfoy. Please escort Miss Carpenter down to the Hospital Wing, and do be careful on the stairs." Flitwick gave a wave of his wand, repairing his split desk.

Luna got to Lily's side while Xavier went in front of her so as to help catch her if she started to roll along to fast again. They wandered down the corridor until they reached the stairs where both Luna and Xavier managed to wrap their arms around Lily's bubble and help her roll down them extra carefully.

Safely on the second floor, the three first years made their way for the Hospital Wing which was at the end of the first corridor. They pushed through the double doors and Lily rolled on her own over to one of the beds, climbing up onto it with a bit of help. She sat then, laying back, stretching her bubble, and closing her eyes. If she could just relax then maybe her stomach would calm down.

"What in the name of Merlin have you gotten yourself into this time, Carpenter?" Madame Promfrey asked, looking quite astonished at the girl-in-bubble predicament. She began to poke and prod at the bubble curiously, attempting to get it to pop and failing just as much as Flitwick had. "How did you manage this one?"

"These gits were fighting…" Lily explained, opening her eyes and pointing a thumb at her friends who picked that moment to look guiltily sheepish. "They were using me as a tug-of-war and I got angry and this just sort of happened. We think it's some sort of defense thing. Nobody can pop it. Professor Flitwick said I'd probably just have to wait it out, let my guard do down."

"Very strange. So it was accidental magic then… which is peculiar for children your age, even if your friends are fighting."

"Can you owl my dad?" Lily asked. "Only… I think this might have happened before… when I was small…" She frowned, trying to remember the other time she'd been inside a bubble, but failing. It seemed to harder she tried, the harder it was to remember."

"Of course." Promfrey went into her office, but came back out a few minutes later, looking a little frustrated. "Your father isn't listed on your card of emergency contacts. I have just about every Weasley, but not a single Carpenter."

"Ron and Hermione." Lily said automatically, rolling over in the bubble. "He's staying with Ron and Hermione."

"Alright, I'll Floo-call them then. You just rest, you look terribly green. There's a bucket under the bed if you need it. You two had best be off to class." Madame Promfrey looked at Luna and Xavier who both sighed at the idea of not getting out of class.

"Yes ma'am." They left and Madame Promfrey went into her office and shut the door. She returned a few minutes later.

"Your father is on his way. Just try and get some rest for down. I'd give you a potion if I could."

"Thanks." Lily smiled at her, curling up on her side and clutching her poor stomach. It was not at all happy with her. First a big lunch and then a roller coaster ride inside of a bubble. Today was not a good day for this particular stomach that had been looking forward to dinner before this.

"Well, would you look at you, Snidget." Harry laughed as he sat down in the chair next to the bed of his resting daughter inside of a bubble. Hermione had told him that Lily had wanted him in the Hospital Wing, so he'd apparated to Hogsmeade straight away and then waited at the gate for Hagrid to let him in. It had taken little more than fifteen minutes.

Lily rolled over, not so green anymore, but the rolling sent a rush of the color back into her face and she groaned. "Hi Daddy."

"Hi Snidget. What did you do?"

Lily recounted the story of Luna and Xavier's fight, telling him how they'd tried to play tug-of-war with her and ended up making her cause the bubble to explode around her. "…and now it won't go away. I'm stuck!" Lily frowned, feeling a little bit panicked at the idea of living out the rest of her life inside of a bubble. She glared at the top of it and poked it hard, but it didn't relent. "And I thought you might know how to get me out, because I think I remember this happening before…"

"You're right. It has happened before, but not since you were about five. You've been putting yourself in bubbles since the day you were born, whenever you feel you're in any immediate physical danger by the looks of it. I never had to worry about dropping you after you developed some depth perception, because you'd just bounce. Don't worry, it'll pop on its own once you…" Harry laughed as the bubble exploded, splashing him. "Once you feel totally and completely safe."

"Oh!" Lily blinked in shock, staring around the room excitedly now that she was free. She flew forward off of her bed and hugged Harry tightly around the neck. "You make me safe, Daddy."

"I know." Harry smiled, hugging her back. "You're still a bit peaky looking though. Lay back down for a few minutes." He pressed her back onto the bed, settling her down, and Lily sighed, snuggling against the welcomeness of the pillow.

"Oh good, I see that you're back to normal. I'll just get you… Potter!" Madame Promfrey shrieked. Harry was glad she hadn't been carrying any potion, otherwise she might have dropped it. "I wasn't expecting you to be here. When she asked for her father, I just assumed… You weren't around last time she was in here."

"I know, but I'm here now." Harry smiled at her and patted his daughter's hair.

"Well… good." Promfrey nodded firmly and wandered into her cupboards, searching before pulling out a tumbler and a bottle of potion that she poured into it. She carried the tumbler over to Lily and handed it to her. "This will make your stomach feel better and then you'll be able to go back to your studies."

"Yes, ma'am." Lily nodded and drank down the potion before handing the tumbler back to Madame Promfrey. The little girl turned a healthy shade of pink and Promfrey nodded satisfactorily.

"That's twice now that you've been here. But I suppose, like father like daughter. You spent your fair share of time in this very bed, Potter."

"Yeah, I did." Harry grinned back at her, hugging Lily as she clambered off of the bed and into his arms. "Thanks for that, actually. I know I wasn't always the easiest patient to deal with what with trying to escape."

Madame Promfrey smiled back and took the tumbler. "You're free to go Carpenter." And with that said, she wandered back into her office.

* * *

Booyah! Sorry it's been a couple days. I hit a sticky patch. Anyway, I hope you liked it! It's a little odd, I know. But lemme know what you thought, I'd love to know!

With love,

S.Q.O.


	23. Valentines

Disclaimer: JK Rowling be awesome.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_Chapter Twenty Three: Valentines_.

"Guyaaaaaaaah!" Luna came barelling up the stairs of the Ravenclaw girls' dorms and slammed herself in and through the first years' door,. She looked around and then headed straight for Lily who was sitting at her desk beneath her bed, working on a two foot long essay Hanild had assigned the week before and was due the next day. She'd gotten it mostly done, she was justing having a bit of trouble doing the grammar check. She was actually kind of beginning to miss Muggle school, where they taught you those sorts of things. "Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!" The brown haired one bounced persistently, her hair flying all around her head, making her look quite a lot more like her mother than she already did. "Liiiiiiiiiii-lyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" Lily asked, looking up from her essay. She had ink on her face and hands from her struggles and now was really not a good time to be bothering her with crazy jumpy things. As much as she loved her cousin, she seriously needed to get this essay done.

"Do you know what today is?"

"Um… Monday?" Lily asked, quite confused as to why Luna would be asking her this of all questions when she had important things to be getting done.

"It's February thirteenth!" Luna said, sounding quite impossibly exasperated with her best friend. She flopped down on floor beside Lily's chair and hugged onto her leg, tugging at her. "So, that means that tomorrow iiiiis?"

"The fourteenth?"

"YES!" Luna got up and resumed her bouncing, running about the room like a lunatic with its head cut off (which was worse than a chicken) before she went to her trunk and began digging through it, pulling things out of it. "It's Valentine's Day! We've got to get busy if we're going to make Valentine's for everyone important for the exchange!"

"What exchange?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Lily! Haven't you been paying attention to anything Flitwick says at the end of class?"

"I tune out mostly after he gives us what we need to be doing on the homework because usually his personal stories aren't as fascinating as the actual subject of Charms."

"Oh… well… every year since the end of the war, Hogwarts does a whole big Valentine's celebration in order to 'keep spreading the love', because apparently there wasn't enough love before the war or during it or whatever. I forget who came up with it, though rumor has it that it was Sinistra, after she found the man of her dreams or whatever other nonsense. Anyway, it's festive and brightens most peoples' spirits, so McGonagall's kept it around. We get to make Valentines for people and then they'll be given out throughout the day. And then there's a dance, but we're not allowed to go to that until fourth year."

"Why not?"

"It's an old school rule for all balls and dances. No students under the age of fourteen shall be admitted unless asked as a date by an older student. I don't know who comes up with that kind of crap, so I was thinking…." Luna peeked around the room and in the bathroom, checking to make positive that the room was empty besides them. But even so, she moved closer to Lily and whispered conspiratorially. "I was thinking that maybe we could use your cloak and sneak in. Just to see what it's like, of course."

…

"You have got kidding." Lily and Luna's faces fell as they relayed their plan to Xavier a little later that night in the corner of the common room. "There's no way I'm going to risk getting in trouble by sneaking down and trying to get into a dance we're not allowed to get into. And you shouldn't either. You've both already got one detention on your records and we're not even into our second year yet!"

"Now see, here's the brilliant part of this entire thing…" Luna stated excitedly, turning her gaze to look at Lily who continued.

"No one will actually see us." Lily grinned and Xavier stared at them like they were absolutely nutters.

"Not see us? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, well, not your's Lily, your bubble's unburstable…" There was a moment where the three of them giggled at the inside joke before Xavier continued. "Anyway, there's no way they're not going to see three first years who are obviously not allowed to go to the dance trying to sneak in. It's not like we can turn invisible or anything and trust me, they'll be watching closely to make sure it's only fourth years and up going through those doors."

"Actually, Lily has something special that'll get us in."

"Oh yeah, and just what in Merlin's name would that be?" Xavier asked, sounding impossibly exasperated with the entire situation. He could be such a buzz kill sometimes, but he was good fun when he let his guard down, like he had over the winter holidays when there was no one around to be judging him except for the Weasleys. And they weren't judgmental really.

Lily grinned and motioned Xavier forward, cupping her hands over his ear and whispering so very quietly and deliberately that no one else in the common room would hear except for Xavier. Not even Luna could hear her. "An invisibility cloak."

"You've got a what!" Xavier exclaimed, sitting up straight so face and speaking so loudly that half the heads in the room turned to look at them curiously. Upon spotting that it was just a bunch of first years, however, most of them just grumbled to themselves and went back to their conversations or homework. Xavier stared at Lily for confirmation and she and Luna both nodded, grinning at him. He shook his head in disbelief, his eyes wide with the wonder of it all. He leaned forward, unable to resist the temptation of an invisibility cloak. "I'm in."

…..

The next morning Lily awoke among a pile of red and pink paper scraps that she had been too tired to clean up. She and Luna had spent a better part of the night working on valentines for all of their friends, once Lily had given up on revising her essay, seeing it as pointless. She looked over at Luna who grinned back at her, a red piece of paper stuck to her cheek and others in her hair. Lily figured she looked just as bad, but then, that's what best friends were for. Getting the valentine paper scraps out of each other's hair before breakfast.

Luna had decided that they should do their hair up anyway, and make it valentiney special. She sat carefully while Lily braided hers down her back, weaving in a thick pink ribbon that had a very nice effect when interspersed with Luna's brown hair. Luna then pulled Lily's back, giving her a pair of braids woven with thick red ribbon. Both satisfied, they donned their school robes and grabbed their school bags, full of both books and valentines. They headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast, both just as excited about the day, but not nearly as excited as they were about their plan for later that night.

A huge hamper sized basket sat at the end of each table, overflowing with red, pink, and white envelopes. Lily and Luna added their valentines to the pile to be dispersed throughout the day by the school owls. The Great hall was decorated with pink and red heart banners. The regular golden plates and goblets had been exchanged for pink crystal heart shaped dishes that intrigued Lily to absolutely no end. They were just so pretty. Heart shaped pancakes and toast and eggs lay on the serving platters, even the bacon had somehow been bent into hearts.

Lily and Luna squealed as they sat down, joining their fellow first year girls who were already tittering about who might get a valentine from whom. In fact, that seemed to be the basis of just about every single girl's conversation this morning, making most of the boys look quite uncomfortable and those who didn't look uncomfortable were sitting and looking doe-eyed at their girlfriends.

"Good morning!" McGonagall said once most of the school was in the room. She rose from her seat and though she looked as stern as ever, she was wearing a pretty red hair piece over her tight bun today. The school settled down, lifting their eyes to hear what she had to say. "Today, is a day to celebrate love for one another. It is about being thankful to have the friends that you do and remembering that if the war had not been won, some of us may not be sitting here today. So appreciate your friends. And if you don't get a valentine from that special someone, fret not, because there is always going to be someone else who loves you more." The room clapped as she sat down. Though, even she had to admit, she was never going to be good at giving speeches like Dumbledore had been. But, she thought she'd gotten her point across.

"Eh-hem." Lily and Luna turned their heads around from their breakfast to look up at Xavier who was standing there with his hands behind his back. His cheeks were incredibly red and he looked like he felt very awkward. Lily was just about to ask him what was wrong when he thrust his hands out at them, offering up two cards. "Here."

Lily and Luna took the cards from him smiling and Lily looked down at hers. Xavier had taken a plain piece of parchment and folded it in half. It would have been quite simple and not well thought out had it not been for the spiraling and very delicate red inked hearts all over the front of it, circling into the center of the page where he'd drawn what appeared to be a green stemmed, pink calla lily that looked almost real. The effect was quite beautiful and must have taken quite some time. Lily beamed and opened the card. He'd written a very simple 'Happy Valentine's Day!' in the center of it and then surrounded it with yet another heart before signing it with his unique and crazy curling signature. Lily turned to look at Luna who's valentine was the same on the inside, but the cover of which had pink spiraling hearts leading into a realistic yellow moon that was practically glowing.

Both girls got up from the bench and hugged Xavier around the neck tightly, laughing as the red of his cheeks covered the entirety of his face now. Giggling surrounded them and someone murmured something about adorable firsties before the girls and Xavier took their seats, the boy squashed in the middle of his two best friends.

"They're really pretty." Lily said, admiring her valentine as she ate. "You're really good at drawing."

"Except you know you're supposed to put them in the basket right?"

"I… I wanted to give them to you myself." Xavier stated defensively, glancing over at the overflowing basket.

"Did you make one for anyone else?" Luna asked curiously. Knowing Xavier, the possibility was he'd only made just the two and that would be that for him. It was doubtful that he would receive more than just valentines from Lily and Luna anyway.

"Only for Mrs. Weasley and Ginny." Xavier explained, his cheeks heating back up. "I thought they should have one because they're so nice."

"We made them valentines too." Lily nodded brightly and dug into her pancake, eating away at it happily. "And for a whole bunch of other people as well."

"We had to get all of our cousins, aunts, and uncles. Not to mention all of our friends here at school." Luna explained as she stabbed her fork into the yolk of her egg, making it burst happily and leak it's yellowy goo. "I think we were up until two thirty at least."

"Three thirty." Lily corrected her. "Remember, you voted we just give up at two thirty, but then we decided to keep going because it'd be unfair for only two thirds of everyone to get valentines while the rest didn't."

"Normally I only make one for my mum and my house elf." Xavier frowned, picking away at his food. "But not this year…"

"You make a valentine for your house elf?" Luna asked, sounding quite surprised at this. It was unusual for a house-elf to get decent treatment from any pureblood in the first place.

"Well… yeah. She raised me mostly, more than either of my brothers' house elves raised them." Xavier explained quite defensively. "Only Karpy isn't allowed to contact me anymore, because of my parents' orders. But then, she's not their's, she's mine. So if I were to counter that order, she would have to obey me instead…" He frowned, seeming to ponder something over before he dug into his bag and drew out another valentine, this one with a large fish in the center of it. He scribbled something inside of it quickly and then got up to place it in the valentine basket.

"What did you do that for?" Luna asked curiously when he came back.

"I've decided to send Karpy her valentine anyway. And I've given her specific instructions to ignore any orders from my parents and to leave the manor at once. She's to go to the Burrow, explain who she is, and then help Mrs. Weasley in any way she can. She's a really nice elf…" Xavier nodded to himself and if Lily didn't know better, she was positive he was taking McGonagall's words about loving and appreciating those you cared for very seriously.

"Well, I think you should free her and…."

"Yeah let's not have this conversation again." Lily said loudly, reaching over to cover Luna's mouth. "Not today and not around me. I do not want to have another bubble incident." Luna mumbled something against Lily's hand but nodded, remembering what had happened the last time she and Xavier had had an argument about house elves.

…

The excitement of Valentine's day could be felt wherever you went in the school. Laughter could be heard ringing through the hallways as owls delivered the valentines, hundreds of them swooping about the castle like this was their day to shine and show everyone just how exactly good they were at being mail carriers.

The first year Ravenclaws were sitting in their second class of the day, Transfiguration, when the first batch of valentines for them arrived, the owls fluttering in through the door and windows, flying low and dropping the envelopes and cards on the proper desks, getting feathers on the floor. Most of the girls were squealing as they tore open their cards. McGonagall let them go at it, knowing from past experience that it was as easy to subdue a bunch of eleven year olds with valentines as it was for a man to approach a unicorn and not get kicked. She would give them ten minutes to get it out of their systems and then it would be like a man approaching a sedated unicorn.

Lily opened her valentine from Luna and hugged her best friend delightfully as Luna opened the one Lily had made for her. The two girls chattered thanks at one other before hugging again, their happiness expressed in the high pitchedness of their voices. Xavier had gone red as he received valentines from both Lily and Luna, each one shaped like a heart and made as 'manly' as possible (aka: no paper lace). Lily grinned as she watched him bend over to slip both of his cards delicately into his book bag, a smile on his face at the fact that he had friends who cared enough to make him valentines.

The day continued much the same, with outbursts almost every hour. Squealing could be heard coming from classrooms. Even older girls who did their best to remain poised, including Caprice, had trouble containing themselves whenever they received a particularly lovely valentine. The owls were also swooping around and dropping little boxes of candy hearts into everyone's laps now and then, and it was all the teachers could do to try and keep the more sugary highed students under control. Eventually, most of them gave up trying to teach altogether and let their classrooms erupt in madness.

By the time classes ended for the day, rumors were flying around about who was going to the dance with whom and what your brother's best friend's third cousin's second cousin's sister was going to be wearing. Every made their way for the common rooms, the students in fourth year and up tittering about getting ready for the dance while those third year and below took to moping about the common rooms, or at least the girls were moping. The boys seemed content to have a night free of people bossing them around and telling them not to be so loud.

Dinner was being served at the dance, so the younger students were to be having their own tiny parties in their common rooms, the meal consisting mostly of cookies and cakes. Lily supposed a little party in the common room might not be so bad of an idea, but she and Luna seriously wanted to know what the dance was like. So, they headed up to their dorm.

Luna pulled on a floaty pink dress and Lily tugged on her old favorite red one, both of them too anxious to be doing much talking. If they managed to get into the dance, then they might have a chance to take off the invisibility cloak, and if they did, they wanted to blend in the best they could by being dressed up as well.

The two girls waited until they had heard the stampede of girls heading downstairs to go to the dance before they left the room, pretending to be dressed up for the little party like some of the other younger girls who had taken it as a chance to break out their favorite dresses. Lily had the invisibility cloak shoved up the front of her dress and pinned there, the same way she had found it over the summer. Luna had checked and double checked her to make sure the cloak didn't show in the least when Lily walked or spun around. Quaffle followed them down the stairs and bounced straight for the table of treats, his tongue snaking up to swipe a heart shaped cookie straight out of the hand of a third year girl who huffed and marched away. Xavier coughed, coming over to the two girls and the three of them looked around, waiting for a chance. He wore a pair of black pants and a black vest over a white long sleeved button up shirt, a red bowtie around his neck.

"You know, I think I might have left my Charms essay in the library." Luna said after a moment, as was their plan. They had asked Flitwick earlier if it would be alright for them to go to the library during the dance, so long as they were back before curfew. He had said it was fine, but they were to either be in the library or in Ravenclaw Tower, not anywhere else.

"That's due tomorrow morning. You should probably go get it." Xavier suggested coyly, picking up a tiny heart shaped cake and munching at it while Lily dropped a few snacks onto the floor for her puffskein, to keep him entertained while they made their get away. Quaffle had gotten better at learning that he couldn't follow her everywhere, and that if he just waited for her in the common room or dorm, that she would always return for him and bring him treats as well as take him outside for a bit to play in the snow.

"Maybe we should go with her. I've got to get a book for Herbology anyway." Lily said after a minute, standing up straight. "You coming Xavier?"

"Might as well, there's nothing interesting here otherwise." He shrugged and the three of them inconspicuously made their way out of the door and down the spiraling stairs that lead away from Ravenclaw tower.

The trio walked halfway to the library before ducking into an empty classroom to don the cloak (Xavier took a couple minutes to calm down as he examined it with delight). It fit all three of them just fine and they left the room, being careful not to step on each other's toes. They traveled down the corridor slowly, keeping a pace that kept their footsteps fairly muffled. By the time they got down to the Entrance Hall, there was a large throng of students heading into the Great Hall, under the careful, watchful eyes of Filch, the caretaker, and McGonagall herself.

The three first years found an opening and went for it, slipping into the throng of people and being very careful to keep out of the way, trying not to get bumped into. It was hard not to, but with the amount of people flowing into the room, it was also hard to tell whom you had bumped into. Nobody noticed that they had touched what looked like thin air. And then, miraculously without a hitch, they were in!

The Great Hall was even more splendidly done up than it had been during breakfast and lunch. Glittering confetti hearts floated down from the ceiling among the candles, but never quite touching the flames that had been magicked to be pink and red, giving the room a strangely pink glow everywhere one looked. The four house tables had been traded out for about three dozen smaller round tables covered in pretty white tablecloths that fell to the floor. The tops of the tables were set with the same pink crystal dishes as breakfast, only they seemed to glitter more, if that was even possible. The center piece of each table was a giant candy heart, constantly changing colors and messages as it spun around in a slow circle. Each table seemed to seat about eight to ten people, and everyone was working on finding a place to sit down. Apparently dinner was to be served before the actual dancing would begin.

Lily, Luna, and Xavier scurried to find a place to stand off to the side of the room, keeping out of the way. "There." Luna whispered, pointing to a table where their cousin, Molly, was taking a seat. They made for it, slipping beneath the table. Trusting the tablecloth to keep them hidden, Lily slipped the cloak off of them and Luna prodded Molly's leg.

"Psst, Molly." The red headed fourteen year old Weasley lifted the table cloth discreetly, and peered down, nearly jumping out of her seat at the sight of the three first years.

"What are you guys doing here? You're supposed to be up in your common room. You'll get in so much trouble if you're caught."

"It's not fair that only fourth years and up get to come. So we thought we'd investigate." Lily explained casually, thankful that they had lucked out with this table. The only other people at the table were friends of their cousins, who weren't about the squeal. They knew well that it was an unspoken Weasley code not to tattle so long as no one was getting hurt or else face the wrath of the red headed ones. Besides, it was quite funny to see that a trio of first years had snuck past Filch and McGonagall.

"Well just, try and keep out of sight." Dominique whispered, having bent down to see who Molly was talking to. He chuckled, shaking his head at them, and prodding his girlfriend who peeked under the table as well.

"Oh! Aren't you so cute in your little Valentine's outfits!" The blonde haired girl beamed at them, patting the top of Lily's head and she grinned up at her, hoping that they weren't going to be told how cute they were too much tonight. They were eleven, after all, not five.

"Can you pass us down something to eat? We're starving." Luna asked brightly and Molly groaned. She dropped the cloth for a moment and then she appeared, holding out one of the plates and a menu she had stolen from one of the empty seats at their table.

"Just tell it what you want and it'll appear."

"I don't suggest the pink flambé. You'll set the underside of the table on fire." Chris, one of Dominique's friends laughed, handing down more plates, a few goblets, and some silver ware. He dropped the table cloth and the chairs around the first years began moving, spreading themselves out to make it look like their table was normal as opposed to missing three places. They were lucky Caprice wasn't at the table as well, she would have ratted them out faster than a mouse to cheese.

Lily, Luna, and Xavier spread themselves out beneath the table the best they could, crossing their legs and balancing plates on their laps while they put their goblets in the center of their little circle so as not to have them accidentally kicked and spilled.

"I am so glad I agreed to this." Xavier grinned as he lifted a fork full of the most decadent mashed potatoes he had ever tasted in his life to his mouth. "Even the welcome feast doesn't taste this good."

"It's because the house elves put extra lots of love into their cooking for today." Luna explained, nomming into a chicken leg with a big grin. "'ough I 'ill 'ink 'ey-"

"Chew then chat, Luna." Lily said, copying Hermione. Luna chewed away at her chicken and swallowed it before she continued.

"Though I still think they should be treated much better than they are."

"They are treated just fine! They're happy cooking and cleaning and doing as they're…"

"You really just don't under-" Lily covered both of their mouths as they started to argue again. She didn't want to be found out just because of her friend's fighting. They stopped and she removed her hands.

"-stand, I mean it's not as if…"

"But if they were to…"

The two first years glared at each other and Lily could practically see their teeth bared. "Guys! We can't fight here, you've got to…"

But it was too late. Luna had grabbed Lily's hand and Xavier had grabbed the other. They tugged. "Lily, c'mon. Let's go find another table to hang out under."

"No Lily, come with me. He's just annoying, I don't know why you wanted him to come along in the first…"

"STOP IT!" Lily shouted, outraged as they nearly pulled her arms out of their sockets. There was a burst of red light and she sighed as her bubbled erupted around her, upturning the table in a loud clatter, causing screams and yelps from it's occupants.

"What's going on over here!" McGonagall came over, her hands on her hips, not looking the least bit pleased. "Carpenter, Malfoy, Weasley! You are supposed to be up in your common room and this is completely unacceptable." Necks were craning to see what was going on now. McGonagall bent down and lifted Luna and Xavier off the floor by their ears, not even bothering to try and get Lily with her impenetrable bubble. "Carpenter, Weasley, this is the second time you've been caught where you're not supposed to be. Malfoy, I expected better of you. Fifty points from Ravenclaw-"

"FIFTY!" Luna exclaimed, her eyes growing round.

"Fifty each." McGonagall added, her face growing redder as she led them for the door, Lily following along in her squeaking bubble. "And two detentions each. Now get yourselves back up to the Ravenclaw Tower, or I'll make it more. Honestly, you're worse than your parents were." She turned on her heal and then slammed the huge doors of the Great Hall behind her.

The three Ravenclaws looked at each other, all red faced with embarassement.

"If you two hadn't been fighting, this wouldn't have happened!" Lily exclaimed angrily, fed up with the both of them and their arguments. She stomped her foot, making her bubble roll forward slightly with a particularly loud squeak.

"Well, she started it!" Xavier yelled back, starting up the marble staircase.

"Did not!" Luna yelled back at him, following and stomping past him. Lily sighed, following after them, having to get down on her hands and knees to get her bubble up the stairs.

"A little help?" She called when she got halfway up. Both of her friends turned and sighed, coming back to get Lily up the stairs.

"You really need to learn how to pop these things on command." Xavier muttered irritatedly.

"I'd like to see you try." Lily glared at him as they reached the top of the stairs and he let go.

"You know what? Forget it. Get yourself up the stairs. It was your idea to go down to the dance in the first place."

"It was Luna's idea!" Lily said angrily, stomping her foot again and pushing her bubble along.

"You agreed to it!" Luna replied, shaking her head. "Besides, we wouldn't have been caught if you hadn't erupted in your stupid bubble."

"If you guys hadn't…" But they weren't listening anymore. Xavier was already out of sight, making his way up the next set of steps and Luna was halfway down the hallway. Lily sighed and rolled herself along the corridor.

It took her an hour to get up all of the stairs that led back to the seventh floor with her bubble. By the fourth stair case she was getting better at it, but Lily was still quite upset. Her best friends… they'd just… ditched her when she'd needed them because they were angry. She supposed it was partly her fault that they had been found out, but then, it had been Luna and Xavier's fault for fighting. And Luna had had the idea to crash the dance in the first place.

Feeling mad at both of her best friends, Lily got to the top of the Ravenclaw stairs and reached her hand out for pull the knocker. Her bubble popped and she sighed, glad that that was at least over. She knocked on the door, answered the question and entered the still partying common room. It looked like a lot of fun in here now. But she tracked down Quaffle and carried him up to the dorm. Luna's bed already had the curtains drawn around it. Lily climbed into her own , pulling her curtains shut tightly, not sure what was going to happen in the morning. She hugged Quaffle closely, feeling a strange urge to cry, but refused. Luna would hear, and that wouldn't be good.

* * *

And there we are! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, lemme know what you thought!

Love always,

S.Q.O.


	24. Explosions

Disclaimer: JK Rolwing is the woman.

* * *

**Little Lily**

**_Chapter Twenty Four: Explosions_**

"My name is Luna, I'm so very, fly oh my it's a little bit scary…" Luna danced around the first year girls' dorm, her head bopping to the music playing on her MPod. It resembled an IPod, but ran on magic rather than electricity which allowed it to work at Hogwarts where electronics tended to explode their insides, unable to handle being around so much magic. Luna spun in a circle, knocking into Lily's desk and sending her books flying to the floor.

"Luna! I'm trying to study!" Lily shouted, slipping down out of her chair to pick her books up. She was feeling a bit irritable… Luna still wasn't speaking her after the Valentine's incident four weeks ago and seemed unable to acknowledge her cousin's existence. It didn't help that they shared a dorm with each other, nor the fact that they had all the same classes. Lily had been pairing up with Cammie when they worked in pairs, leaving Luna to pair of Eden. Xavier was usually left to join up with one of the boys as per usual, but he wasn't speaking much to either Lily or Luna much these days. Luna ran into Lily's desk just as she'd finished stacking her books up. "ARGH!"

Frustrated, Lily left all but her Herbology book on the floor, grabbed her essay, ink, and quill and headed down to the common room. She was hoping for some peace and quiet, but the room was crowded with other Ravenclaws who were already talking about the Easter holidays. Not even bothering to sit down, Lily rearranged her pile of work, knowing this trip was going to take longer than just the one down the stairs.

Lily left the common room, aiming for the library. When she arrived there, she automatically spotted Xavier sitting at a table surrounded by books next to the Muggle science section. She sighed and turned away, unable to face him. She knew if she went in, she'd have to deal with stolen glances and angry eyes, not the mention that Xavier seemed to burst out in anger as much as Luna ignored her.

Opting to find an empty classroom to work in, Lily started down the hallway again, her arms starting to tire from being in one position, holding onto her book that was nearly as big as she was and her essay. She worked her way downstairs, peeking into classrooms as she went, looking for one that wasn't occupied by a couple making out or a teacher writing on the board for their first lesson of the next day.

Lily walked along a narrow corridor on the seventh floor, wondering if she'd ever find a place to study. She passed by a rather moth eaten tapestry and paused for a moment, looking up to watch as a troll in a tutu beat a rather unhappy looking man with it's club. She grimaced and continued walking, yelping as a broom cupboard around the next corner burst open. A pair of sixth years tumbled out, their robes crooked, hair mussed. Lily dropped her things, her ink bottle falling and shattering on the stone floor.

The sixth year girl let out a small scream as she spotted Lily and her boyfriend turned to look down at the small first year as well. A badge gleamed on his chest, a large P entwined with a badger. "What are you going out of your dormitory? It's past curfew for first, second, and third years."

"What were you doing inside a broom closet?" Lily inquired, watching the boy's face turn red, knowing full well what they'd been up to.

"That's none of your business! Now get back to your common room before I report you to Professor McGonagall. Her quarters aren't far from here, you know. I'll also take off points!"

"I'll tell. I'll tell her you were snogging instead of doing your rounds." Lily threatened, glaring up at the boy. She'd had a rough enough day as it was and she really didn't want to have to deal with an older student telling her what to do, even if he was a Prefect.

"Sure you will, right after I report you for being out after curfew. Who do you think she'll believe after that little mishap at the Valentine's day dance?" The Prefect threatened right back, and Lily deflated what little courage she'd had to stand against him. By now, the mishap was old news, but it could still be used as leverage against her. Especially with McGonagall.

"Fine." Lily groaned, turning around to head back to the Ravenclaw tower, but not before she stuck her tongue out at the boy and girl. She went back around the corner and past the tutu troll tapestry, wondering how she was going to get her work done now.

It took Lily two minutes to realize she'd left her things where they'd fallen by the broom cupboard. She slapped her forehead and ran back for them, getting a glance from the troll this time. It seemed confused as to why she'd passed this way three times now.

With her things firmly back in her arms, though soaked with ink, Lily turned around for the third time, fully intending to go back to Ravenclaw tower this time. She wondered how she was going to finish this essay before tomorrow's lesson… she might actually have to as Longbottom for an extension. He was nice, and she did turn everything in on time up to this point. Sighing at the very idea of it, Lily almost missed it. But she was certain, as she turned her head to glance at the previously bare wall to her right, that she'd seen movement.

Had that door been there before? Curious, she reached out a hand and pressed it open, cautiously peering inside in case any more older students had decided to have a snog fest inside of it, bleck. But there was no one in this room, which was quite small, but welcoming at the same time. Entering the room, Lily closed the door behind her and looked around more fully.

Silk draped the walls in Lily's favorite shade of red, giving the room the effect that it was warm. A small desk sat in the far most corner, a cushioned chair under it, and a blue crystal cup holding quills on its surface. Lily smiled and moved to sit at the desk, setting her things down on the top and relishing just how perfect it was. The desk and chair seemed to be the perfect size for her, not too tall like most were with her small stature. She was just eleven after all.

Lily pulled the drawer of the desk open, hoping for some ink and was presented with row after row of ink bottles. Every single one was a different color. She chose out a black one, which was the colored required for any school work. She couldn't help thinking though, about how much Xavier would love to see all these different inks in the sketches he did sometimes. Heart aching for her friend, Lily pulled her ink sodden essay to herself and opened her book to find that it hadn't been too badly damaged by the ink spill. The cover was a bit sodden, but it had thankfully landed closed instead of open.

Lily yawned and peered at her watch. She'd been working for hours now, getting her essay just right, but she was still shocked to find that it was well past midnight. Oooh, she was going to be in so much trouble if she got caught! And she'd left her invisibility cloak up in her trunk… She really should have brought it with her. If only there were a way she could stay the night here, or avoid being caught…

Lily yelped, standing and nearly knocking over the chair as the room expanded and a bed appeared. It looked incredibly squishy and comfortable, with a ton of pillows and some warm blankets… a pair of blue pajamas covered in twinkling stars at the foot of it. Lily looked around the room even more curiously, shrugged. She was much too tired to question the ways of the magical world at the moment and undressed. She pulled the pajamas on, finding that they were just the right size for her. She crawled into the bed that seemed to hug her, almost like the perfect nest for a little bird.

Lily yawned as the lights in the room dimmed. She snuggled down into the pillows, pulling the covers up over herself to her chin and relaxing as a strange, yet comfortingly familiar old lullaby seemed to echo from the walls of the room itself. Completely at ease, though she didn't know how she could be with so much going on in her brain, Lily rolled over and fell blissfully fast asleep.

…

When Lily woke the next morning, so was impossibly well rested and beyond happy feeling. She looked around the room curiously, wondering exactly how it had produced a bed when she'd needed it most. Hoping they weren't too dirty, she changed back into her robes, finding them strangely fresh, clean, and warm as though they'd just come out of the dryer. She hugged them about herself, breathing in the familiar smell of detergent that she associated with home… a home before even the Burrow.

Glancing at her watch, Lily groaned. She'd already missed both Herbology and the beginning Transfiguration! It was practically lunch time already, how could she have slept for so long? Deciding to skip the second half of Transfiguration (there was just no point, she'd get the work from Cammie and apologize to McGonagall later), Lily ran her way back to Ravenclaw tower. She needed to at least get her books for her afternoon classes and then head to lunch. Her stomach was starting to eat away at her insides in its insistence for food.

Lily greeted Quaffle affectionately as she grabbed her school bag and shoved the things she would need after lunch into it. "Were you a good boy while I was away?" She swung her bag over her shoulders and hugged Quaffle to her chest, opting for taking him down for lunch today. She hadn't given him his breakfast, making her feel even more awful, and thought his growling tummy might appreciate more than just a simple sandwich.

Hair mussed from her rush and having not had a brush, Lily made her way down to the Great Hall, joining the crowd of students doing the same. She took her usual seat at Ravenclaw table and was just about to grab an apple when something barreled into her and nearly knocked her out of her seat. She yelped, something locked rather tightly around her shoulders and chest.

"Oh Lily! Luna! She's here! She's fine!" Lily blinked and wriggled free enough to move her head to find a very white and very relieved looking Xavier hugging her. He blushed and dropped his hold on her, moving to take his usual seat to her left. "You weren't a breakfast or Herbology, and then Luna said you'd not come back to the dorm last night…"

"You had us worried sick!" Luna stated angrily, knocking Lily upside the head rather harshly before she collapsed down on the bench to hug her so tight Lily hard a hard time breathing. "Don't you DARE ever do that to us again, ever! You hear?"

"Yeah, I hear…" Lily beamed at her, but her eyes were open in shock. "I thought you were mad at me?"

"Well, we were…"

"Until we thought maybe something bad had happened to you."

"And then we were just worried."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know you can't control that crazy bubble." Xavier sighed, grabbing up a sandwich and shoving it into his mouth quickly and averting his eyes.

"I'm sorry too… It was my idea to go to the dance in the first place…" Luna admitted, hugging Lily quite tighter until the other girl coughed and wriggled free.

"So, you expect me to forgive you in a snap after three weeks?"

"Er…"

"Ok." Lily beamed, unable to say no. She loved her friends dearly and knew that they were actually really sorry for being dumb. She threw an arm around both of their shoulders and hugged them before returning to her lunch. She couldn't stay mad at them… they were her best friends after all… and they'd been really worried.

"Where were you, anyway?" Xavier qasked curiously, feeding a piece of cold chicken from his own sandwich to Quaffle who had taken to rolling up and down the table between them and a few other Gryffindors who he knew would share with him if he hummed and bounced and gurgled as cutely as he possibly could.

"Weeeell…" Lily recounted her small adventure with looking for a place to study, the sixth years in the broom closet, and the strange room that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere as well as given her a bed when she grew tired. She watched as their eyes seemed to grow bigger and bigger with every sentence that fell from her mouth, and by the time she'd finished, they were looking at her quite shocked.

"Wow! A magical room!"

"A magical room that gives you what you want!" Luna exclaimed excitedly in a whisper, having leaned in as Lily's voice had dropped to keep their conversation private. She didn't want anyone else knowing about the magical room. "Across from the tapestry of that weird guy trying to teach trolls how to do ballet?"

"Yep. And the door didn't appear until the third time I went by it, but I'm not sure how or why it did that. "

"I'll try looking it up in my copy of Hogwarts, A History, the Revised Edition." Luna nodded, biting her sandwich even more ravenously. "So you slept all morning then? So you didn't hear…"

"Hear about what?"

"There was another attack by those Bombing Bandits or whatever they're called. They blew up a place called Madame Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade at about three this morning."

"And Hogsmeade is within walking distance of Hogwarts! The third years and up are allowed to visit it on special weekends."

"Was anyone caught?"

"No, but Dad says he and Uncle Harry did their best." Luna explained with a frown. "They disapparated before they could set up a ward against it. But they left a note, saying they knew right where what they're looking for is located and that they're going to stop at nothing in retrieving it. Dad wouldn't tell the Prophet what is was, but reading between the lines, I think he knows. No one is even supposed to know about the note, but the woman who runs the shop found it and showed it to the Prophet before she gave it to the Aurors."

"What d'you think they're after?" Lily asked curiously, turning her head to look at Xavier. His whole family was in Slytherin after all, if anyone had a clue as to one these bad wizards were doing, he might. But he just shook his head.

"No idea. It could be anything from a priceless trinket to something even bigger."

"Well, whatever it is, I hope it isn't anywhere near here. I don't like the idea of those explosions going off so close… at the stadium was bad enough." Luna shuddered, remembering the awful fire and bombs going off right after Ginny's game.

"Me neither." Xavier shook his head, obviously not liking the idea of explosions being so very close to their school.

When the trio had finished eating, they all traipsed outside into the still kind of snowy and muddy ground so that Lily could turn in her Herbology essay and apologize for missing class that morning. The day was quite sunny and warm, despite the bits of snow still hanging around the grounds. Lily quickly shed her cloak, dancing about in circles, breathing in the wonderful scent of spring starting to make its first appearance.

"Jeez, how can you stand it?" Luna stated, tugging her cloak more firmly about herself. "It's cold." Having come from the southern bit of England, Luna was better adjusted to the weather being a bit warmer than it was all the way up here in the north of Scotland. It being mid-March, they were still bound to get some more snow and the temperature would probably drop back down when it was cloudy, but for right now, it was quite lovely, at least to Lily.

Xavier shook his head, looking at Luna in agreement and motioning that Lily was possibly insane by circling his ear with one finger. Lily didn't seem to notice, she was much too busy hopping about like a little bird who had spotter a gigantic worm.

"Hey, I've an idea." Luna started, running to catch up and grabbing hold of Lily's sleeve to get her attention. "Why don't we head down and visit Hagrid? I haven't been to see him in a week and he's bound to be wondering…"

"Ok" Lily laughed and grabbed Luna's hand, swinging her cloak up and over her shoulder. They had a full hour and a half for lunch, so a trip of Hagrid's was a wonderful idea. What else were they going to do in the remaining hour?

They headed own the sloping lawn toward's the little house at the edge of the forest. Hagrid's vegetable garden was bare, but he was working up the ground already, his giant strength making even the frozen soil easy to move.

"Hullo, Hagrid!" Luna called brightly, skipping the rest of the way down as Hagrid looked up. A grea grin spread across his bearded face and he lifted a hand in greeting.

"'lo Luna! Lily, Xavier. Jus' bin' gettin' me garden ready fo' the spring. What're you lot up ta?"

"Lunch." Xavier smiled, looking down at the overturned earth. "Isn't it a bit early to be planting, Hagrid?"

"A bit, yeah. Professor Longbottom's got a few tricks to gettin' the soil good an' fertilized before plantin' though. Yeh lot ever heard of a Spurty Sprig?" They all shook their heads. "Well, is a plant, see… an' it thrives in this kind o'weather. An' when it dies, right before plantin' time, it's got all sorts of good stuff inside of it that seeps inter the dirt. Anyway, I bin' plantin' it every other year or so about this time, and it does wonders for me vegetables. Keeps em real healthy, ya see, bugs dun like the smell, but worms love it."

"My mum says worms are wonderful for gardens." Luna nodded appreciatively, looking down at the ground and plucking a pulsing pink little worm from the soil. It squirmed about in her hand, confused.

"Yeh mum is usually righ' about things." Hagrid laughed, nodding and taking the worm from Luna. He delicately placed it down in some of the earth he'd already turned up, letting it escape back down into the dark depths.

"Almost always." Luna nodded and waved good bye to the worm.

"Are these the Spurty Sprigs Hagrid?" Lily asked, pointing down at some weedy looking dark green plants in a bucket.

"Yep. But I'm only gonna be plantin the seeds. They got pods in em, kind of like peas. Yeh can start shellin' em if yeh want."

"Sure." Lily grinned as she plopped down by the bucket and reached for the closest plant. It felt a lot like seaweed and squeaked between her fingers as she used a nail to slit a pod and extract a shiny purple seed.

"Hey! That looks like a Gobstone!" Xavier sat down beside her excitedly and started in on his own plant.

"It doesn't feel like one though… it's more like a grape." Lily laughed, giving the round seed a squish. It pulsed and spat at her, emitting a large quantity of black goop all over her face. She sputtered and looked at Xavier who had gotten some of the spray on his cheek. He wiped it off on his cloak sleeve.

"Looks like a Gobstone, smells like a Gobstone, acts like a Gobstone…"

"Gobstone's were based around the seeds." Hagrid explained, reaching down and plucking the blue sphere from Lily's palm and giving it a poke. "Used to use em in the game til they found out they were great fer gardens. Changed em to squirtin' marbles instead… easier to flick."

"Can we try a game with them, Hagrid?' Xavier asked excitedly as he slit a pod and extracted another seed.

"Lemme plant em first, then yeh can have the spares."

"Awesome!"

They spent the rest of lunch helping Hagrid plant the seeds as he dug up the rest of the earth in his garden. It didn't take very long, and soon all three of them were headed back up to the castle with their pockets full to bursting with the seeds. They had placed them in the huge plastic baggies Luna carried around that they normally used for swiping things from the dinner table.

"I've an even better idea for these…" Lily stated brightly, motioning for her friends to get closer so that she could whisper. Luna and Xavier stopped walking and they formed a sort of little huddle to one side of the castle's large front doors. By the time Lily finished telling them her plan, they were all giggles.

Later that afternoon, Lily and Luna were slumped over their table in History of Magic when Xavier raised his hand. They had decided that it would look less fishy if he was the one to do it, he was the one with better behavior after all.

"Er… yes… Mr…"

"Malfoy, sir." Xavier provided as Professor Binns looked down at his seating chart to try and figure out his name. Binns spent so much time talking that he would probably never get to know their names properly. "May I please use the rest room?"

"Uh… yes. Certaintly, but do hurry. We're about to get to the bloody bits."

"Yes, sir." Xavier nodded and reached his hand under the table for Lily and Luna's bags of seeds. He pocketed them and then took the wooden bathroom pass from the hook on the wall.

Five, ten, fifteen minutes, Xavier was gone. But Binns didn't seem to notice in the slightest. When he came back, Xavier's pockets were lighter looking and he took his seat without a word. Lily had to bury her face in her arms to stifle her giggles when he gave them a thumbs up under the table.

When the bell rang signaling the end of the day and the start of dinner, the trio quickly donned their bags and made their way downstairs with the rest of the population of Hogwarts. They made sure to take seats facing away from the Hufflepuff table and towards the Slytherin table, they eyes glued to the various bowls of grapes as they ate.

"ARGH!" One of Xavier's brother's stood up abruptly, coughing and sputtering, a black gooey substance dribbling out of his mouth. Various other Slytherins began to do the same, the black goo from the seeds Xavier had cunningly placed among each bowl of grapes down in the kitchen. The racket grew louder and the laughter began at the Ravenclaw table. Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors rose and craned their necks to see what was going on, but when they did, they too, burst out laughing.

"What is going on here!" Professor Morrigan's voice rose over the din in the hall as she walked down the length of the Slytherin table. "Malfoy! Explain."

"Somebody's tried to poison us Professor!" Xander practically shouted, his whole front covered in the black goo at this point. "The grapes, Professor, someone's hidden something in them."

"Hmmm…" Morrigan pulled the closest bowl of grapes to herself and eyed them carefully. She plucked on up and gave it a squish. Awful smelling black goo shot out of it and into her face. The laughter that had died down to see what would happen erupted again. Morrigan wiped her face clean with a napkin from the table and spun around. "SILENCE!"

The hall fell quite quiet very quickly, though a snigger could be heard every now and them, unable to be stifled. Morrigan gazed around at them all, her eyes narrowed. "If I find the person or persons responsible for this, you will be receiving two weeks worth of detention for deliberately causing mayhem and I will be taking points… Longbottom!"

"Yes, Morrigan?" Neville asked as he rose from his seat and wandered down the aisle towards her, looking quite tired already. No doubt he didn't want to speak with her at the moment, especially when he was so hungry.

"There are Spurty Sprig seeds in the Slytherin grape bowls. Have you any idea who might have placed them there?"

"Not a clue, Morrigan. I haven't even introduced them to the first years yet, that's next week's lesson. I keep them locked in my private greenhouse, no student could have gotten to them. The house elves use the greens as spicing for their clam stew, perhaps one of them mistook the seeds as grapes?"

"Perhaps… "

"And students don't know how to get into the kitchens. Didn't you use them in one of your Advanced potions classes this morning? I gave you a whole bucketful if I'm not mistaken."

"That is correct. But I only handed out the necessary amount to each student and then locked them away in my private stores. I highly doubt a total of twelve seeds could have caused this mess." Morrigan gestured down at the Slytherin table that seemed to be oozing itself in places at this point.

"Well, as there is no real harm done… considering the seeds aren't even remotely poisonous… they just taste and smell awful… and the mess… I suggest we forget the matter unless presented with proof of those who might have done it."

"There needs to be punishment, Longbottom! My whole house is covered in mess!"

"Ah, what seems to be going on in here?"

"Headmistress!" Morrigan spun around to face a frowning faced McGonagall who was gazing around the Great Hall curiously. She looked down at the Slytherin table, ran a finger thought the black goop, and then gave it a sniff.

"Ah, I see the house elves have mistaken some Spurty Sprig seeds as grapes again… I'll have a chat with them. Good thing it was only the one table this time… you should have seen the explosion back in '72… Whole hall was covered. It took Mr. Filch ages to clean… But just in case, nobody is to touch the grapes!" McGonagall raised her voice for the rest of the hall to hear and there was laughter among them.

"This… this has happened before?" Morrigan looked perplexed.

"Yes. But I dare say, we've got a new generation of house elves… they probably didn't know how to tell the difference and simply got mixed up. No harm done."

"Yes." Lily whispered and she, Luna, and Xavier high fived under the table. They were quite impossibly pleased with themselves. There was nothing quite like a good prank to help cement their newly repaired friendship further.

* * *

YES! I finally got a new chapter up on this one! It took forever to finish, but I did it! Sorry it's a tad shorter than normal though, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I'm planning a companion piece about the explosion of '72 that McGonagall mentioned. Lemme know what you thought!

Much love,

S.Q.O.


	25. Taken

Disclaimer: Not world blah blah bah, JK Rowling blah wonderful woman blah blah.

* * *

**Little Lily**

_The Final Chapter_

_Chapter Twenty-Five: Taken_

"Lunaaaa!" Lily laughed, jumping down the girls' stairs into the Ravenclaw Common Room, her arms laden with a box bigger than her head and twice as tall. "Luna! Lookit what Gramma's sent us!" She hurried over to where Luna was sitting in the middle of the room with Cammie and Eden. All three other first year girls looked up from their homework. Lily dropped the box on top of the middle of the table and dug into it, extracting a very prettily decorated chocolate egg and offering it to Luna.

"Oh! Great! I love these things." Luna seemed quite pleased as she took her egg and then stood up on tip toe to peer into the box. "I take it Xavier gets one as well then?"

"Yes." Lily grinned, pulling out her own egg and unwrapping it.

The Easter holidays had begun a few days ago and though the first years had been expecting a little break from work, they had been gravely mistaken. If anything, the teachers had doubled the workload they were to be doing during their week without classes. Most students had decided to stay at the school during the holiday, especially the Ravenclaws. They needed to study. Exams were only a month and a half away and if anyone wanted to pass, they had to work extra hard. Having never taken exams before, the first year Ravenclaws were pawing through their year's notes most of the time and wondering what could possibly be on the test.

Xavier had gone crazy. He could usually be found in the corner of the common room or in a secluded spot in the library, reading his way through their school books. He was even reading the chapters they hadn't even gotten to in class yet. Any time anyone interrupted his studying, he would snap at them and build his tower of books higher in front of himself.

Lily lifted Xavier's egg out of the box and wandered over to the corner where he was currently reading their Herbology book and muttering something about derkins. Pushing the two towers of books away so that she could get to him, Lily climbed up onto the table and set the egg down on top of Xavier's open book. He paused in his muttering and looked up. "Oh.. it's you." He blinked and lifted the egg from his page.

"Gramma sent us all chocolate eggs. Isn't it pretty?" Lily grinned, swinging her legs over the edge of the table.

"That was nice of her, but I really haven't got any time to… What're you doing?"

Lily had lifted herself up from the table with her arms and rested her bottom right on top of Xavier's Herbology book. She dropped her feet into his lap and shook her head. "You've been at it nearly all week. Classes start back up tomorrow."

"Which is exactly why I need this time to continue studying, now get off." Xavier stated in frustration, but Lily kept herself firm.

"No. What we all need is a little bit of a break. We've been studying all week and this was supposed to be a bit of a vacation from work. All your homework is done, isn't it?"

"Yes. I finished it Wednesday, but…"

"No. Get up. We're going outside. It's nice out." Lily pointed to the nearby window where the world had gone from being muddy and gross to wonderful and springy. The snow had melted completely and the flowers were just beginning to sprout out of the ground. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze blowing across the grounds. Even the giant squid had come up from the depths of the lake to bask in the sunshine. "Up I said!"

Sliding her legs off of Xavier's lap, Lily slid off of the table and onto the floor. She grabbed hold of the back of Xavier's chair and began dragging it across the carpet towards the door. "Luna! C'mon!"

"I need to…" Luna started, looking down at her blotchy Transfiguration essay. It was finished, but she still had a bit of revising to do. But then again, they didn't have Transfiguration until Tuesday. "Aw, sod it." She got up from her seat as well and went after Lily.

Xavier dug his heels into the carpet, obviously wanting to stay, but also not wanting to fall out of his precariously tipped chair. Luna grabbed the other side of it and together, she and Lily dragged the boy out the door and onto the landing just outside of the common room. Lily closed the door and let the chair go.

As soon as he was righted, Xavier stood up and made to knock on the door, but then Lily held up her bag. "I've got Gobstones." An so Xavier was won over.

They got all the way down to the third floor before they ran into Peeves. He spotted them almost as soon as they got off of the staircase. "Ickle firsties! Ickle firsties not studying? Naughty naughty ickle firsties, Peevesy should punish them, he should."

"Leave us alone, Peeves." Lily sighed as she started down the corridor. But of course, telling Peeves to do something just made him want to do the opposite all the more.

"Peevesy knows just how to punish the ickle firsties!" Peeves swooped down lower and began pegging bits of dried ink at them. The three first years took looks at one another, and bolted, pulling the tops of their robes up over the backs of their heads.

"Peeves! Cut it out!" Luna hollered back at him, turning to look at him as she ran. She got an ink pellet right between the eyes. She ran faster.

Down to the second floor, and then the first, and finally to the Entrance hall where they bolted through the wide open great oak doors onto the grounds. Peeves stopped at the door, having spotted a couple of kissing seventh years. Happy to be out in the sun after a week indoors studying, the three firsties traipsed down the lawn towards the lake, full intending on relaxing a bit.

….

"Gotcha! That's a point for me." Lily grinned widely as she knocked one of Xavier's Gobstones out of their circle. She beamed happily, collecting it and her snitch Snapper. Xavier grinned back at her and shot his own Snapper at the circle.

"Yeah, but I'm still three ahead of you, nope, wait, make that four." Lily laughed and snatched up his Gobstones before he could.

"Nope!" She rose to her feet and bolted across the grassy lawn. Luna had her back against the weeping willow they'd taken to hanging out under, Lily liking the way the tendrils shielded them away from the rest of the world. It was a kind of awesome clubhouse made of tree. Luna was content to watch the game of Gobstones rather than play, though she was also reading a book called 'Flying with the Cannons' which looked to be even older than one of their honorary cousins, Teddy Lupin, whom Lily hadn't met yet. She'd heard he was out of school though, and that he seemed to have a thing for Caprice. Harry had written her a week or so ago to tell her about Teddy and how he was technically her godbrother. Teddy, it seemed, had forgiven his godfather's absence in an understanding manner, his nature quite like his father's.

"Oi! Just because you take them doesn't mean you get the point!" Xavier laughed, chasing after Lily. The circled the tree until he tackled her down by the legs and managed to wrestle one of the Gobstones away from her vice-like grip.

"New rule! New rule!" Lily giggled, rolling over and trying to protect the second Gobstone. "Whomever catches the stone first, gets the point!"

"You can't make up new rules!" Xavier scolded, wedging his hand under her arms to tickled her sides, causing her to flail with peals of laughter.

"I didn't know Gobstones was a contact sport." A cold voice spat at them and they all looked up to find that Zabini girl they disliked so much glaring down at them. She had her arms crossed and her sides were flanked by two other Slytherin first years, both of them sneering boys.

"Bugger off." Luna looked up from her book, glaring at the Slytherins.

"We don't have to. This is an ideal place to hang out, and we want it."

"You can't have it. Find your own place." Lily stuck her tongue out, rising to her feet as the other two id the same.

"Well then, I suppose we'll just have to take these instead." The boys stepped forward and stomped on Xavier's Gobstones board and started scooping up the stones and shoving them into their pockets.

"Hey! Those are our's, you can't just take them!" Xavier shot forward, landing a blow on one of the boy's shoulders. The boy turned his head, lifted his arm, and then promptly pummeled Xavier in the cheek. The smaller boy faltered for a second, and then feel quite harshly to the ground. Luna shouted out in anger, drawing her wand as she got up from where she was reading.

"Oi! That's enough! We haven't done anything to you, so leave us alone."

"Oooo, we're so scared." Zabini shivered mockingly and then bent down, taking up Lily's special Snapper. "Gobstones is such a little kid's game, but then, I shouldn't be so surprised to find you playing it, Carpenter. Tell me, how much did your family have to pay the Headmistress in order to get rid of you early?"

"What?" Lily asked, completely confused at this question.

"You heard me. How much? You can't be more than eight with how small you are."

"I am not eight! I'm eleven, just like you, though you don't act it. Running around, ruining everyone's day just for the fun of it."

"At least I'm not playing baby games with a pair of blood traitors, but then, you wouldn't know anything about blood, would you Mudblood?"

"You shut your mouth!" Xavier shouted, drawing his own wand as Zabini's two friends drew their's.

"I really can't believe you stooped down to their level, Malfoy, but I guess you haven't got as much sense as the rest of your family. Just wait, the time will come when wizards and witches are treated better than the Muggles and Mudbloods. Purebloods will be held in the highest of honor."

"They already tried that during the second war. In case you haven't noticed, it didn't work out for those supporting Voldemort."

"The Dark Lord was the greatest wizard to ever live!"

"Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard to ever live! And Harry Potter is a close second!" Luna proclaimed.

"Harry Potter only cared about himself. And both of them were defeated by the Dark Lord."

"HARRY POTTER IS THE GREATEST PERSON ALIVE!" Lily shouted angrily, her arms flying out as she did so. She shoved Zabini to the ground so fast the other girl had no idea what was going on until it happened.

"ARGH!" Zabini pushed herself up, brushing off the front of her skirt. She looked down. "You got my stockings all grass stained, Mudblood!"

"I'm not even Muggleborn you idiot." Lily glared at her. "But I've got nothing against Muggleborns. I'd be proud to be one if I was one. They're blood's purer than anyone else's. It's undiluted magic."

"Everyone says you're a Mudblood! Don't deny it." Zabini spat at her.

"My father is a wizard."

"You don't even know who your father is."

"I do so know who he is! He's Harry Potter!"

It took a few moments for Zabini and her friends to register the words that had erupted from Lily's mouth, but when they did, they all fell to the ground in hysterics. "H-Harry Potter? You're crazy. Harry Potter is dead! You're a Mudblood, I knew it!"

"She's not lying." Xavier was now bent over, gathering the Gobstones the Slytherins had dropped when Lily had pushed Zabini.

"She is. Just because she resembles him slightly, she's made him up to be her father, because she doesn't even know who her parents are. She wasn't wanted."

"He's not dead and he does so want her." Luna grabbed Lily around the shoulders, hugging her in reassurance, but Lily shrugged her off.

"All of you are morons! Harry Potter is dead. He died because he was a wimpy little…"

"He is not a wimp!" Lily and Zabini went tumbling to the ground, the latter landing roughly as the punches of small fists met her face.

"Get off me! Get off me!

"Carpenter! " Madam Hooch was striding across the lawn towards them. She grabbed the back of Lily's robes and hauled her, kicking and shouting obscenities at Zabini, off of the Slytherin girl. "What do you think you're doing?"

"She insulted Lily's father, ma'am." Xavier sighed, folding up his beloved Gobstones circle board and pocketing it. He had saved the most important ones.

"Nevertheless, you are all old enough to know better than to resort to violence instead of telling a teacher. Carpenter, I'm going to have to give you a detention and five points off Ravenclaw for attacking another student."

"Make it ten, Professor." Zabini held up her arm, revealing a large red circle. "She bit me as well."

"You… you bit her?" Madam Hooch stared down at Lily in shock. Lily's face went red, but she stared back up at her defiantly. So what if she had bitten Zabini? She deserved it. Madam Hooch sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you. Honestly, your father was never this much trouble. Except for that one year… but we had Umbridge then…"

"Umbridge was a wonderful woman, or so I've heard." Zabini chided in, beaming brightly,

"Umbridge was a…er… well… she was a…. nevermind. Just separate yourselves. You three, find another place to play." She pointed at Lily, Luna, and Xavier. On the outburst of protest the three Ravenclaws shouted at her, she waved her hand. "I don't care who was here first! Clear off! And I don't want to find you fighting again, or I will alert your Heads of Houses, is that clear!"

"Yes'm." Lily sighed. She, Luna, and Xavier gathered the rest of their things and wandered away from the magnificent willow tree, leaving the Slytherins with smug looks of triumph on their faces.

"It's not fair at all." Luna scuffed her foot against the ground as they continued down the sloping lawn, past Hagrid's hut and continuing further than they had ever done before. "Did you really bite her, Lily?"

"Yup. She tasted rotten too." Lily made as face, causing the other two to laugh. They kept walking until they came to the end of the path. Here there was the large metal gate that normally closed tightly and sealed with magic, but today it was wide open, inviting…

"I think this is as far as we can go… It's a Hogsmeade weekend, but we're not old enough to go…" Luna peered down the road that led into the village. "We should go back."

"Nah, let's stay down here. I doubt anyone'll come bother us this far from the castle." Lily flopped down on the grass beside the path and leaned up against one of the stone pillars on either side of the gate. "So long as we don't actually go through the gate, we can't get in trouble."

"I can't help feeling like we shouldn't be here though." Luna shook her head. "Let's go…"

"Oh c'mon, Luna, this place is as good as any." Xavier tugged his Gobstones board out and spread it out on the grass beside Lily.

"Well… alright then. But if we get in trouble, it's on your head." Luna shrugged and leaned up against the other pillar, pulling her book back out of her bag and propping it open on her knees. Unlike her mother, she was much easier to get into doing things she was wary of.

"I'm going to beat you this time, Xavier." Lily laughed, reaching to pull her Snapper out of her pocket. She paused, turning her head towards the open gate. "Did you guys see something?"

"Hmmm?" Luna looked up from her book and peered out down the path between the pillars and Xavier looked up from his chest of Gobstones.

"I could have sworn I saw something more… just there… by that tree." Lily pointed towards the tree, the hair on the back of er neck rising. She wasn't one to get scared so easily, but something wasn't right here. Luna had felt it… and now Lily was feeling it. "Maybe we should head back up to the…"

The world suddenly lit up orange as the tree exploded. A dark figure laughed as the three first years fell to the ground to avoid being hit with shards of falling tree. Lily screamed as she felt something wrap about her waist.

"I've got her! I've finally got her! Let's get out of here, hurry! Before he shows up!"

"What about the witnesses?"

"Modify their memories, or better yet, kill them."

"Lily!" Luna shouted as she got up off the ground, closely followed by Xavier who immediately ran at the man who had Lily.

"Luna! Get help! Hurry! Lily!" Xavier jumped upon the man's back but was quickly thrown off.

"Xavier!" Lily yelped as she was stabbed in the side with the man's wand.

"Stupify!" The little girl fell limp and Xavier screamed. He ran at the man again, receiving a hard blow to the back of his head and falling to the ground.

"Lily! Lily!" A man's voice came from down the path quickly followed by the sounds of apparation. Harry ran for the man, unable to shoot spells at him out of fear of hitting his daughter with something harsh.

"She's mine now. Say goodbye to your little girl." The man laughed and spun on his heel, disapparating right there. Harry stood in place, his eyes wide with shock as he fell to his knees. How could this have happened?

* * *

Oh yes, I know I'm evil, but it was time. Don't worry though, there will be a part two. This one didn't come out as well as I hoped, but here it is anyway! Look for Little Lily: The Second Year coming soon to a near you! As in, within the next week or so.

Love y'all!

S.Q.O.


	26. NEW Author's Notice

Hey guys! So, I know that if you've reached this portion of the story, you've finished it! WOOO! I would like to inform you that if you're looking for the second installment it is currently being revised so it's much better than the original version. The original second year was taken down and the first chapter of the revised edition is up. The new edition will include more details and a slightly altered plotline from the original version. Thanks!

Love,

S.Q.O.


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